City · Tulare County, California

Tulare, California

Tulare is a city in Tulare County, California, part of the Visalia, CA metro area. It has 70,945 residents. Tulare, California has a quality-of-life score of 5 out of 100 (very low), ranking #14,850 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within California it ranks #946 of 1,062 cities and towns. It ranks best on drought exposure (low), comfortable days (high) and suicide rate (low). It ranks worst on fine particulate matter (PM2.5) (high), high school diploma or higher (low) and high ozone days (high).

5Very low

Quality-of-life score: #14,850 of 15,651 cities and towns
California: #946 of 1,062 in CA
Population: 70,945 (2020-2024)
Land area: 21 mi²
Density: 3,420.5 /mi²
FIPS code: 0680644

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 76 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.

Safety26#11,604/15,637
Economy18#12,787/15,631
Housing21#11,839/14,977
Health35#10,087/15,609
Healthcare20#12,561/15,650
Environment3#14,952/15,453
Education1#15,555/15,649
Infrastructure52#7,568/15,650
Community3#15,193/15,651
Leisure & amenities19#12,740/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Tulare, California ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Tulare 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

Drought exposure · low1%
94/100California 9%United States 43%Oct 2025–Sep 2026National Drought Mitigation Center (University of Nebraska–Lincoln), USDA and NOAATulare County value
Comfortable days · high34.2%
94/100California 34.8%United States 26.8%2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationTulare County value
Suicide rate · low9.4 /100k
86/100California 9.9 /100kUnited States 14.1 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionProvisional dataTulare County value
New homes permitted · high7.1 /1k
82/100California 2.8 /1kUnited States 4.2 /1kSep 2025–Aug 2026U.S. Census BureauProvisional data
Grocery stores · high2.2 /10k
80/100California 2.0 /10kUnited States 1.7 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsTulare County value
Injury deaths · low69 /100k
79/100California 67 /100kUnited States 87 /100k2019-2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteTulare County value

Weaknesses

Fine particulate matter (PM2.5) · high12.7 µg/m³
0/100California 9.4 µg/m³United States 8.0 µg/m³2022Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyTulare County value
High school diploma or higher · low76.0%
1/100California 84.7%United States 89.6%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B15003
High ozone days · high74 days
2/100California 38 daysUnited States 7 days2022Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyTulare County value
New business applications · low7.3 /1k
3/100California 14.1 /1kUnited States 16.6 /1k2025U.S. Census BureauTulare County value
Days with unhealthy air · high11.8%
3/100California 12.4%2025U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyTulare County value
Median Air Quality Index · high64
4/100California 602025U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyTulare County value

Trends

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

PopulationRising
63,547 (2015-2019) → 70,945 (2020-2024)
+12%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
New homes permittedImproving
2.3 /1k (2021) → 7.1 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
+208%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
80.4% (2015-2019) → 92.0% (2020-2024)
+12 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Median household incomeImproving
$54,037 (2015-2019) → $72,410 (2020-2024)
+34%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
Home price to income ratioWorsening
3.8× (2015-2019) → 4.6× (2020-2024)
+19%5 yearsCensus table B25077US 3.5× → 4.1×
Poverty rateImproving
20.2% (2015-2019) → 17.9% (2020-2024)
−2.3 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 12.3% → 12.1%

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, Tulare, California improved on 2 of 14 measures with a comparison and declined on 2. 10 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.

Improved2

Broadband+12 points80.4% → 92.0%
Household income+34%$54,037 → $72,410

Declined2

Uninsured+1.9 points9.2% → 11.0%
Price / income+0.7×3.8× → 4.6×

All 14 measures

Change of every measure of Tulare, California between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	21.1 min2015-2019	22.8 min2020-2024	+1.8 min	Within the margin of error	29%
Bachelor's degree or higher	10.9%2015-2019	11.8%2020-2024	+0.9 points	Within the margin of error	34%
Broadband subscriptions	80.4%2015-2019	92.0%2020-2024	+12 points	Improved	67%
Child poverty rate	25.7%2015-2019	24.5%2020-2024	−1.1 points	Within the margin of error	51%
Effective property tax rate	0.83%2015-2019	0.75%2020-2024	−0.1 points	Within the margin of error	30%
High school diploma or higher	74.8%2015-2019	76.0%2020-2024	+1.2 points	Within the margin of error	49%
Home price to income ratio	3.8×2015-2019	4.6×2020-2024	+0.7×	Declined	35%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4182015-2019	0.4282020-2024	+0.010	Within the margin of error	42%
Median household income	$54,0372015-2019	$72,4102020-2024	+34%	Improved	63%
Poverty rate	20.2%2015-2019	17.9%2020-2024	−2.3 points	Within the margin of error	64%
Rent as share of income	32.0%2015-2019	33.7%2020-2024	+1.7 points	Within the margin of error	42%
Rent-burdened households	54.3%2015-2019	56.0%2020-2024	+1.7 points	Within the margin of error	50%
Unemployment rate	6.9%2015-2019	8.6%2020-2024	+1.7 points	Within the margin of error	19%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	9.2%2015-2019	11.0%2020-2024	+1.9 points	Declined	27%

“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 Tulare, California five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Tulare, 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, Tulare, California itself moved −1 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

70,945 residents (±42)

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

20,898 households (±630)

Tulare, California
California share

Under $25k15%3,060
$25k–50k20%4,135
$50k–75k17%3,646

Homes

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

Owners and renters

20,898 households (±630)

Tulare, California
California share

Own58%12,218
Rent42%8,680

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

Table view

Getting to work

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

How people get to work

28,366 workers (±1,210)

Tulare, California
California share

Drive alone83%23,500
Carpool9.6%2,733
Public transit0.5%†156

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 Visalia, 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 Tulare County, the county holding most of Tulare's residents.

Tulare County has 7,189 employer establishments, 150 for every 10,000 residents (0.60× the US rate of 248; 0.57× California's), with 107,492 paid employees at an average annual pay of $52,688. The Census Bureau also counts 24,952 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 7,189; 24,952 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 150; US 248 · California 263
Paid employees: 107,492
Average annual pay: $52,688; US $68,342

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

Ambulatory health care services	737	15.3	0.74×Fewer than typical	6,800	$70,640	919
Restaurants and other eating places	664	13.8	0.75×Fewer than typical	11,192	$23,498	179
Specialty trade contractors	484	10.1	0.65×Fewer than typical	4,499	$55,512	1,083
Lessors of real estate	339	7.1	0.57×Fewer than typical	993	$45,601	2,090
Limited-service restaurants	324	6.7	0.84×About typical	6,193	$21,974	75
Offices of physicians	303	6.3	0.97×About typical	1,586	$92,846	197
Truck transportation	285	5.9	1.17×About typical	2,491	$67,708	1,178
Automotive repair and maintenance	227	4.7	0.94×About typical	1,347	$42,240	537
Full-service restaurants	223	4.6	0.60×Fewer than typical	3,568	$26,391	56
Services to buildings and dwellings	207	4.3	0.64×Fewer than typical	1,686	$37,900	1,958
Construction of buildings	190	4	0.52×Fewer than typical	1,295	$70,529	681
Building equipment contractors	188	3.9	0.65×Fewer than typical	1,841	$68,532	245

Rank places for an industry Open Tulare County

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

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 480,816 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 $282.1K of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Tulare, California: $3.98 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $282.1K; −94% vs FY2025
Per resident: $3.98; US $1,994
Sole-source: 0.0%; US 30%
Single offer: 0.0%; 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

Agricultural Marketing Service$267.5K95%
Federal Highway Administration$14.6K5.2%

Top recipients

SAPUTO CHEESE USA INC$267.5K95%
STEVE MANNING CONSTRUCTION INC$14.6K5.2%

Spending by fiscal year

154.1KFY2017
365.8KFY2018
2MFY2019
2.6MFY2020
1.1MFY2021
851.1KFY2022
2.6MFY2023
86.8K

Top industries (NAICS)

Dairy product manufacturing · 3115$267.5K95%
Highway, street, and bridge construction · 2373$14.6K5.2%

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 Tulare, California, so they do not add up across cities.

Tulare, California's figures are part of those of Tulare County, CA ($78.5M in FY2026), never added to them: 0.4% of that total.

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

See federal money in Tulare 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.

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

House

Senate

Explore Congress The 2026 races

County

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

Tulare County17100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Visalia, CA11

Other cities and towns in Tulare 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
Building Permits SurveyU.S. Census Bureau · release 2026-08
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/0680644

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends