Census-designated place · Ventura County, California

Piru, California

Piru is a census-designated place in Ventura County, California, part of the Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA metro area. It has 2,185 residents. Piru, California has a quality-of-life score of 39 out of 100 (low), ranking #9,478 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within California it ranks #514 of 1,062 cities and towns. It ranks best on comfortable days (high), distance to an Amtrak station (low) and arts, entertainment and recreation (high). It ranks worst on students per teacher (high), high school diploma or higher (low) and home price to income ratio (high).

39Low

Quality-of-life score: #9,478 of 15,651 cities and towns
California: #514 of 1,062 in CA
Population: 2,185 (2020-2024)
Land area: 3 mi²
Density: 687.3 /mi²
FIPS code: 0657372

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 75 of 80 indicators, with the default “Explorer” weights.

Open in the map

Scores by category

Each category averages its indicators' percentile scores among US cities and towns.

Safety61#6,043/15,637
Economy41#9,151/15,631
Housing9#13,633/14,977
Health72#4,308/15,609
Healthcare78#3,508/15,650
Environment26#11,453/15,453
Education2#15,337/15,649
Infrastructure33#10,442/15,650
Community49#8,011/15,651
Leisure & amenities80#3,145/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Piru, California ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Ventura County value” are the county’s: the source publishes no figure for this city or town, and the county holding most of its residents stands in.

Strengths

Comfortable days · high50.5%
99/100California 34.8%United States 26.8%2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationVentura County value
Distance to an Amtrak station · low4 mi
98/100California 10 miUnited States 43 mi2026Federal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census BureauVentura County value
Arts, entertainment and recreation · high7.9 /10k
92/100California 8.9 /10kUnited States 5.5 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsVentura County value
Public EV charging ports · high15.6 /10k
91/100California 17.4 /10kUnited States 7.6 /10kOct 2026U.S. Department of EnergyVentura County value
Primary care shortage · low0.0
90/100California 2.6United States 6.2Oct 2026Health Resources and Services AdministrationVentura County value
Access to exercise opportunities · high97.7%
90/100California 94.3%United States 84.5%2022 & 2024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteVentura County value

Weaknesses

Students per teacher · high22.6×
2/100California 21.7×United States 15.2×2024National Center for Education StatisticsVentura County value
High school diploma or higher · low66.7%
3/100California 84.7%United States 89.6%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B15003
Home price to income ratio · high7.0×
5/100California 7.4×United States 4.1×2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25077
High ozone days · high10 days
7/100California 38 daysUnited States 7 days2022Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyVentura County value
Natural hazard risk · high92.9
7/100California 87.32025Federal Emergency Management AgencyVentura County value
Unemployment rate · high9.0%
12/100California 5.5%United States 4.3%2020-2024U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Census table B23025

Trends

The largest changes over about five years, next to the country's over the same periods.

PopulationRising
1,805 (2015-2019) → 2,185 (2020-2024)
+21%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Median household incomeImproving
$47,216 (2015-2019) → $89,375 (2020-2024)
+89%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
Rent-burdened householdsImproving
63.7% (2015-2019) → 46.6% (2020-2024)
−17 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Rent as share of incomeImproving
34.9% (2015-2019) → 29.1% (2020-2024)
−5.8 pts5 yearsCensus table B25071US 29.8% → 30.6%
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
82.9% (2015-2019) → 87.8% (2020-2024)
+4.9 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Child poverty rateImproving
26.6% (2015-2019) → 21.8% (2020-2024)
−4.8 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%

What changed in five years

How each measure moved between two periods about five years apart, read against whether more or less is better, the published margin of error and the same change in other places.

Over about five years, Piru, California improved on 1 of 14 measures with a comparison and declined on 0. 13 moved within the margin of error and 0 barely changed.

Earlier (2015-2019)
Latest (2020-2024)
Lower standingHigher standing

Position is the place's standing among cities and towns: further right is better, whichever way the measure counts.

Improved1

Household income+89%$47,216 → $89,375

Declined0

No measure declined by more than its margin of error.

All 14 measures

Change of every measure of Piru, California between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	27.8 min2015-2019	33.9 min2020-2024	+6.2 min	Within the margin of error	7%
Bachelor's degree or higher	8.2%2015-2019	12.9%2020-2024	+4.7 points	Within the margin of error	65%
Broadband subscriptions	82.9%2015-2019	87.8%2020-2024	+4.9 points	Within the margin of error	31%
Effective property tax rate	0.95%2015-2019	0.74%2020-2024	−0.2 points	Within the margin of error	59%
High school diploma or higher	70.7%2015-2019	66.7%2020-2024	−4 points	Within the margin of error	8%
Home price to income ratio	7.2×2015-2019	7.0×2020-2024	−0.2×	Within the margin of error	88%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4152015-2019	0.3912020-2024	−0.024	Within the margin of error	70%
Median household income	$47,2162015-2019	$89,3752020-2024	+89%	Improved	97%
Poverty rate	18.7%2015-2019	15.8%2020-2024	−2.9 points	Within the margin of error	69%
Public transit commuters	0.0%2015-2019	0.0%2020-2024	0 points	Within the margin of error	60%
Rent as share of income	34.9%2015-2019	29.1%2020-2024	−5.8 points	Within the margin of error	85%
Rent-burdened households	63.7%2015-2019	46.6%2020-2024	−17 points	Within the margin of error	91%
Unemployment rate	12.1%2015-2019	9.0%2020-2024	−3.1 points	Within the margin of error	90%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	9.5%2015-2019	13.3%2020-2024	+3.8 points	Within the margin of error	15%

“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 14640 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.

Sources: American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. Values are the latest and the one five years earlier of the same publisher dataset; datasets that changed publisher in between are never compared.

Survey estimates (American Community Survey) compare the two most recent 5-year windows that do not share years, so the margin of error of the difference holds. The 2015-2019 window predates the pandemic and 2020-2024 includes it.
A change counts only when it is larger than 1.645 times the square root of the two standard errors squared, summed (a 90% margin). Measures published without a margin must change by at least 5% to count.
“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 15651 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.
Standing is a percentile among the same places: 0 is the lowest value on the measure (or the worst when lower is better), 100 the best.

Cities and towns like Piru, California five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Piru, California in the earlier period, ranked by how many measures improved beyond the margin of error, minus how many declined. A comparison of published data, not a forecast and not advice.

For comparison, Piru, California itself moved +10.3 points in standing on average over the same 10 measures (standings of all places average about zero).

How the ranking works

Similarity is the root-mean-square difference of standings in the earlier period over the measures most places have. Places are ranked by measures that improved beyond the margin of error minus those that declined (a count that estimation noise in small places cannot inflate), then by the mean change of standing over the measures a place has in both periods. Only places with more improvements than declines and a rise in standing are listed. Standings are relative, so a place can improve in absolute terms and still lose standing.

Who lives here

Age, race and education of residents, from the American Community Survey. Shares are of all residents (age), residents of every origin (race) or adults 25 and over (education).

Age and sex

2,185 residents (±527)

Men
Women

80 and over
70–79†
60–69†

Income

How household income is spread, not just the middle: each bar is the share of households in that income range.

Household income

591 households (±115)

Piru, California
California share

Under $25k15%†86
$25k–50k14%†80
$50k–75k

Homes

Who owns and who rents, what homes cost, and what the housing stock looks like.

Owners and renters

591 households (±115)

Piru, California
California share

Own53%315
Rent47%†276

No change since 2015–2019 is larger than the margin of error.

† Wide margin of error (more than 30% of the estimate): read with care.

Table view

Getting to work

How workers travel to their job and how long it takes them.

How people get to work

1,102 workers (±282)

Piru, California
California share

Drive alone61%†672
Carpool22%†244
Public transit0.0%

Jobs and pay

What the largest occupations here pay, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes pay by metro area, not by county or city. The metro area page lists its largest occupations and lets you look up any job.

Pay in the Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA

Local businesses

Employer businesses and sole proprietors by industry, per resident and against the state and the nation. Counts of businesses next to counts of people, not a measure of demand.

The Census Bureau publishes business counts by county, not by city, so these are the figures of Ventura County, the county holding most of Piru's residents.

Ventura County has 22,992 employer establishments, 276 for every 10,000 residents (1.11× the US rate of 248; 1.05× California's), with 273,697 paid employees at an average annual pay of $66,404. The Census Bureau also counts 72,581 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 22,992; 72,581 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 276; US 248 · California 263
Paid employees: 273,697
Average annual pay: $66,404; US $68,342

Employer establishments, employees, average pay and nonemployers of Ventura County by industry, with the density per resident against the nation

Ambulatory health care services	2,507	30.1	1.45×More than typical	18,941	$64,394	3,842
Specialty trade contractors	1,593	19.1	1.24×About typical	12,253	$65,160	3,164
Restaurants and other eating places	1,555	18.7	1.02×About typical	30,292	$26,886	216
Lessors of real estate	1,138	13.7	1.11×About typical	3,427	$67,870	7,119
Offices of physicians	956	11.5	1.77×More than typical	4,191	$100,370	696
Management, scientific and technical consulting	811	9.7	1.45×More than typical	2,839	$108,766	2,944
Construction of buildings	733	8.8	1.17×About typical	4,285	$67,472	1,820
Limited-service restaurants	710	8.5	1.06×About typical	13,883	$23,851	89
Services to buildings and dwellings	658	7.9	1.17×About typical	5,210	$44,825	3,604
Building equipment contractors	620	7.5	1.24×About typical	4,679	$69,505	758
Offices of other health practitioners	607	7.3	1.20×About typical	4,215	$44,142	1,980
Full-service restaurants	584	7	0.91×About typical	13,076	$30,757	82

Rank places for an industry Open Ventura County

County Business Patterns (2023); Nonemployer Statistics (2024)

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 832,071 residents here, 336,755,052 in the United States. County Business Patterns counts establishments in 2023; the Nonemployer Statistics count businesses in 2024.
“More than typical” is a density at least 1.25 times the nation's per resident, “fewer” at most 0.8 times, with at least 10 establishments. It compares counts of businesses with counts of people: it says nothing about demand, incomes, size, quality or profit, and visitors and commuters are not residents.
The Census Bureau adds noise to employment and payroll to protect confidentiality, and withholds some figures: an industry with few establishments can show employees or pay as unavailable.
Industries overlap: a narrower industry (full-service restaurants) is part of a broader one (restaurants), so the rows do not add up.
Industries follow the North American Industry Classification System; the two surveys use different editions (NAICS 2017 and 2022), which this page matches industry by industry.

Federal contracts performed here

In FY2026, an estimated $49.8K of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Piru, California: $22.80 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $49.8K
Per resident: $22.80; US $1,994
Sole-source: 0.0%; US 30%
Single offer: 100%; US 8.8%

A signal is a reason to look closer, not evidence of wrongdoing: most sole-source awards are lawful and justified.

Top buying agencies

Forest Service$49.8K100%

Top recipients

GUARDIAN HELICOPTERS INC$49.8K100%

Spending by fiscal year

1.8KFY2017
-533.1FY2018
993.6FY2019
1.1KFY2020
66.7KFY2022
42KFY2023
650.6FY2024
49.8KFY2026

Top industries (NAICS)

Nonscheduled air transportation · 4812$49.8K100%

Source: Federal contract transactions (Federal Procurement Data System) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov), data current to Oct 3, 2026, loaded Oct 3, 2026.

How this is estimated

Agencies report each contract action's place of performance as a county and a ZIP code. A ZIP code's money is split among the cities it covers by the share of its land inside each (Census 2020 ZIP code tabulation areas); the part outside city limits stays with the county.

The place of performance is what the contracting agency reports, often the contractor's office rather than where the work happens.
Shares are of land, not of people or businesses: a ZIP code that is mostly rural land but has its offices in town gives the town less than it should.
ZIP codes that are not mapped areas (post office boxes, the unique ZIP codes of large federal sites and companies) stay with their county, unless one city covers nearly all of it.
Counts of actions and awards include those only partly in Piru, California, so they do not add up across cities.

Piru, California's figures are part of those of Ventura County, CA ($1.5B in FY2026), never added to them: 0.0% of that total.

Grants and other federal assistance are counted by county here, not split among cities: Piru is mostly in Ventura County.

See federal money in Ventura County

Representation in Congress

Members serving today, with their record in the current Congress (party-unity votes cast with their caucus, roll calls missed). Not a grade.

Piru, California is split between congressional districts: each representative is shown with the share of its residents in their district (current boundaries).

House

Senate

Adam B. SchiffD-

County

A city can lie in several counties. Some indicators are published for counties only: the page marks them.

Ventura County66100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA77

Other cities and towns in Ventura County

Largest first.

Similar cities and towns

Closest indicator profiles across the country (no model: score distances).

Data and sources

Latest published value of each indicator; periods differ by source. Values flagged by their publisher are marked.

PLACES: Local Data for Better HealthCenters for Disease Control and Prevention · release 2025
Local Area Unemployment StatisticsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · release 2025
American Community Survey 5-Year EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2017-2024
Population Estimates ProgramU.S. Census Bureau · release 2025
Small Area Health Insurance EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
Small Area Income and Poverty EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
County Health Rankings & RoadmapsUniversity of Wisconsin Population Health Institute · release 2022-2025+2026-03-supplement

JSON · /api/v1/places/0657372

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends