Visalia, CA

Metro Area Profile

478,693 residents. Jobs, income, development, climate and physical risk across the Visalia, CA metropolitan area.

42out of 100
Area Score
Bottom 7% of 834 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 12 sources
Opportunity746th of 835 metro and micro areas measured27
Schools605th of 695 metro and micro areas measured20
GrowthTop 26% of 834 metro and micro areas measured64
Housing affordability660th of 835 metro and micro areas measured64
ClimateTop 34% of 835 metro and micro areas measured71
Physical resilience787th of 835 metro and micro areas measured14
Access586th of 835 metro and micro areas measured67
Economic stability513th of 835 metro and micro areas measured41
The quick read

Employment conditions sit below most comparable metro and micro areas measured: unemployment is 10.3% and the Opportunity signal places Visalia in the bottom 11%.

In the public schools here, 29% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 21.6 students for every teacher.

Development activity is both elevated and accelerating — 2,015 housing units permitted over the past twelve months, up 36% on the prior year.

These sentences are written by fixed rules from the measurements below — a statement appears because a number crossed a stated threshold, and the values behind it are stored with it. No figure anywhere on this site is invented, estimated or inferred to fill a gap. How this works.

At a glance

Population
478,693
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$71,300
Top 37% nationally
Density
99/sq mi
4,823.9 sq mi of land
Median age
32.1
2024 ACS 5-Year
Area type
Metropolitan area
California
Nearest major airport
BFL
57 mi · Meadows Fld
Median home value
$330,100
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 10.3% — higher than in all but 1% of the 835 measured US metro and micro areas.

Employment fell 1.1% over the past year, to 189,373 employed residents.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Median household income ±$1,5322024 ACS 5-Year$71,300Top 37%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$4592024 ACS 5-Year$28,185Bottom 10%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year17.7%Bottom 15%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±0.5 min2024 ACS 5-Year25.5 minBottom 34%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±0.6%2024 ACS 5-Year16.6%Bottom 9%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±0.7%2024 ACS 5-Year77.0%48th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentJuly 2026189,373Top 16%of 835July 2026
Employment change (3 years)July 2026−1.5%Bottom 33%of 835July 2026
Employment change (year over year)July 2026−1.1%Bottom 41%of 835July 2026
Labor forceJuly 2026211,16985th percentileof 835July 2026
Labor force participation ±0.7%2024 ACS 5-Year74.8%Bottom 38%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Mean annual wage2025 OEWS$58,390Bottom 35%of 3922025 OEWS
Median annual wage2025 OEWS$45,130Bottom 22%of 3922025 OEWS
Metro employment2025 OEWS171,14065th percentileof 3922025 OEWS
Public transit to work ±0.1%2024 ACS 5-Year0.4%56th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)July 2026−0.8%Top 20%of 835July 2026
Unemployment rateJuly 202610.3%Bottom 1%of 835July 2026
Worked from home ±0.4%2024 ACS 5-Year6.1%23rd percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year

Unemployment rate

2021/072022/072023/072024/072025/072026/07117.7
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 10.3% in July 2026. It has been holding roughly steady, over a series running from 2020-01 to 2026-07. A break in the line is a month the Bureau of Labor Statistics did not publish for this area — it is left empty rather than estimated.

Largest occupations — Visalia, CA

OccupationPeople employedMedian annual wage
Farmworkers and Laborers, Crop, Nursery, and Greenhouse21,420$34,800
Home Health and Personal Care Aides8,220$34,320
Fast Food and Counter Workers4,850$38,600
Cashiers4,110$34,770
Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand4,070$39,960
Retail Salespersons3,920$35,990

Searches the 40 largest occupations here that have a published wage.

Occupational employment and wages are published for metropolitan areas rather than for individual cities or ZIP areas, so these describe the wider labor market this location sits in. 2025 OEWS, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

29% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 47% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 21.6 students for every full-time teacher across 179 public schools, more than in most measured places.

Public schools
185
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
21.6
across 179 of them
Math proficiency
29.4%
Bottom 17% in California
Reading proficiency
47.2%
Bottom 33% in California
The 12 largest of 185 public schools, by enrollment.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Redwood HighVisalia Unified2,49024.240%83%
Summit Charter Academy · charterBurton Elementary2,42322.937%47%
Porterville HighPorterville Unified2,12525.022%65%
Dinuba HighDinuba Unified2,11523.829%63%
Golden West HighVisalia Unified2,05921.723%63%
Tulare Western HighTulare Joint Union High1,92721.928%53%
El Diamante HighVisalia Unified1,89021.226%72%
Monache HighPorterville Unified1,85520.830%59%
Mission Oak HighTulare Joint Union High1,67821.024%62%
Mt. Whitney HighVisalia Unified1,63722.130%62%
Tulare Union HighTulare Joint Union High1,61621.329%60%
Granite Hills HighPorterville Unified1,20622.319%54%

77.4% of students here are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. That describes the circumstances families arrive with, not how the schools perform, so it is shown and not scored.

Public schools only, from the NCES Common Core of Data, placed by ZIP code — which schools are in this place, not which one a particular address is zoned for. A dash in a proficiency column is a gap in the federal file, not a bad result. Proficiency is measured against California’s own standard, so it is ranked within state. How to read school figures.

Prices for everything a household buys run about 1% above the national average — the Bureau of Economic Analysis index reads 101.5, against 100 for the nation. Nationally, housing drives most of the spread between places in this index; other goods vary far less.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency’s house price index for this area is up 39% over five years, and up 0.6% over the last year. It follows repeat sales of the same homes, so it measures price change rather than which homes happened to sell.

Homeowners here who pay a tax bill pay a median of $2,318 a year in real estate taxes, about 0.70% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $1,474, some 15% above the $1,280 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $1,474 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $59,000 a year, about 83% of the median household income here of $71,300.

The typical renter household here spends 30% of its income on rent, at the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $1,280 a month.

A median home at $330,100 costs 3.7 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $89,427, above the historic benchmark of about 3 times income.

Cost of living
101.5

Prices here run about 1% above the national average. The spread between places is driven mostly by housing — goods vary far less — and this excludes taxes.

Price level for all consumption in this metropolitan area against a national average of 100. Housing dominates the spread between places; goods vary far less.

Rent as a share of income
30.3%
Above the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
3.7×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$1,474
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$1,280
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$330,100
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against Visalia’s median household income of $71,300, which describes the place rather than you. Enter your own and the ratio is recomputed against it. It stays in this browser.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Cost of living index2023101.5Bottom 17%of 3862023
Home price change (1 year)2026 Q2+0.6%16th percentileof 3722026 Q2
Home price change (5 years)2026 Q2+39.0%33rd percentileof 3722026 Q2
Home price change (10 years)2026 Q2+96.2%52nd percentileof 3722026 Q2
Home price to income ±0.12024 ACS 5-Year3.7Bottom 19%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year58.5%6th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±1472024 ACS 5-Year154,20283rd percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$1,123Bottom 24%of 818FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$2,028Bottom 17%of 818FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$1,474Bottom 18%of 818FY2026
Median gross rent ±$252024 ACS 5-Year$1,280Bottom 17%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$4,9592024 ACS 5-Year$330,10080th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$612024 ACS 5-Year$2,31860th percentileof 9332024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$2,1472024 ACS 5-Year$89,427Top 31%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.02%2024 ACS 5-Year0.70%38th percentileof 9322024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year30.3%Bottom 32%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±4612024 ACS 5-Year3,51376th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year2.3%56th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year4.9%15th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±7392024 ACS 5-Year11,00776th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year

These measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with. They compare housing cost with local earnings only: transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not in them. How to read affordability, the two rent figures and the cost-of-living index.

Development Momentum

64/ 100
Top 26% of 834 published metro profiles
The most recent move in permitting was upward, in a series running from 2024 to 2025.

An AreaProfile calculation combining permit volume per resident, its direction over one and three years, population change and employment growth. Permit volume alone is not the measure.

Population has grown 2% since 2020, reaching 483,546 in 2024.

New construction is predominantly single-family: of 2,015 units permitted over the past twelve months, only 6% are in buildings of five or more homes.

At 4.2 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US metro and micro areas.

Units permitted
2,015
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
4.2
Top 30% nationally
Year over year
+36%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
6.4%
units in 5+ unit buildings

Population, annual estimates

20202021202220232024484k474k
Census Population Estimates Program, July 1 of each year. These annual estimates are designed for year-over-year comparison, unlike the ACS five-year figure shown as this profile's population. It has been rising for the last 4 years, over a series running from 2020 to 2024.

Weather & climate

7 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 96°F and January a low of 37°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 12.1 inches.

30°50°70°90°110°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station LINDSAY, 15.3 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND2.3"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals12.1"1991-2020 Normals
Annual snowfall1991-2020 Normals0.2"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals37°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals96°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals71991-2020 Normals
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals34°F1991-2020 Normals

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. How to read climate and air quality.

Physical risk

14 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding, earthquake and heat wave, with inland flooding alone responsible for 61% of it.

Heat waveHigh
Inland floodingHigh
WildfireElevated
EarthquakeHigh
AvalancheModerate

Low or minimal exposure: landslide, lightning, hail, drought, volcanic activity, tornado, strong wind, winter weather, cold wave, tsunami, hurricane, coastal flooding, ice storm.

Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). FEMA publishes at county level. This value is the population-weighted mean of all component counties; expected annual loss is their sum. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

What this profile does not cover

Each of these is absent for a reason, not by oversight. The Area Score is calculated without them; the weighting is on the methodology page.

Reported crime
Offenses reported to police are published by department rather than by town, so AreaProfile shows a rate only on city profiles, and only where that city’s department submitted every month of a year. City profiles inside this area carry their own figure where their department reported a full year. A partial year is never scaled up to look complete, and arrest counts or news volume are never substituted for it.
Death-certificate rates
The CDC publishes these rates by county, so a metropolitan area carries none of its own. The county profiles inside it do.
Air quality
The EPA publishes an air-quality index by county, and only where a monitor sits, so a metropolitan area carries none of its own. The county profiles inside it show it where one exists.
Taxes
Income and sales taxes are not published: no source covers them nationally with a method open enough to check. Property taxes are shown in the housing section but are not part of the score. The cost-of-living index above is a price level for all consumption, not a household budget, and it excludes taxes. Nothing here is individualized tax advice.
Anything about a specific address
Every figure describes an area, not a street or a house.

Access

3 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest Meadows Fld at 57 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±0.7%2024 ACS 5-Year89.7%Top 37%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle57 miBottom 30%of 835NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle3Bottom 35%of 835NASR current cycle
No internet access ±0.7%2024 ACS 5-Year7.6%Top 38%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Meadows FldBFL57 mi10,849 ft
Fresno Yosemite IntlFAT64 mi9,539 ft
Mojave Air & Space Port/Rutan FldMHV88 mi12,503 ft

Airport identity, position and runway data come from the FAA. “Major airport” is an AreaProfile classification — a public-use civil airport with a paved runway of at least 8,000 feet — not an FAA hub designation. Distances are straight-line, not driving distance.

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Area Score
42
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Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource period
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 Normals
HousingU.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis
Regional price parities and county personal income
2023
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
July 2026
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
2025 OEWS
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026
Access, Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-Year
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimate
SchoolsU.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics
Common Core of Data and EDFacts assessments
2018-19 school year; 2024-25 school year
HousingU.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research
Fair Market Rents
FY2026
HousingU.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency
House Price Index (traditional, all-transactions)
2026 Q2
Current conditionsNOAA National Weather Service
National Weather Service current conditions
Live observation, read when the page opens

Profile recalculated October 8, 2026. Recalculation is not the same as new source data — each figure above shows the period its source actually covers. Read the full methodology, or every source with how often each updates.