Is Ventura a good place to live? The short answer
Ventura is an older coastal city with state beaches, a working harbor and rail service, and prices to plan for. Four numbers frame the decision:
- $885,887: Zillow's typical home value in September 2026, up 1.4% in a year and 63.4% in ten years.
- $2,898 a month: Zillow's observed typical rent, up 3.4% in a year.
- $103,069: the city's median household income (Census ACS 2020-2024), above California's $99,122.
- about $225,000 a year: the household income needed to buy the typical home with 20% down at the October 29, 2026 Freddie Mac rate of 7.24%, if housing costs take 30% of gross pay (our calculation, before insurance).
Against its neighbors, Ventura sits in the middle of the coast: Zillow's typical value is far below Santa Barbara ($1,805,649) and below Ojai ($1,155,262) and Thousand Oaks ($1,027,863), close to Camarillo ($910,985) and above Oxnard ($758,052), all September 2026.
Pros of living in Ventura
Pro: two state beaches inside the city
California State Parks runs San Buenaventura State Beach, two miles of sand with a small lagoon, open 7 a.m. to sunset with a $10 vehicle day-use fee, and Emma Wood State Beach on the west side, which has a campground and is used for swimming, surfing and fishing. Emma Wood's North Beach day-use area has been closed for construction since August 25, 2025. Between them sit the Ventura Pier and the Promenade downtown.
Pro: the harbor and Channel Islands National Park
The Ventura Port District runs Ventura Harbor, with marinas, a launch ramp, Ventura Harbor Village's shops and restaurants, and commercial fishing. The harbor is the departure point for Island Packers, the park's boat concessionaire, at 1691 Spinnaker Drive, and the National Park Service has its Channel Islands headquarters at 1901 Spinnaker Drive.
Pro: train service north and south
The National Park Service lists Ventura as an Amtrak station (code VEC), and Metrolink's Ventura County Line serves two Ventura stations, Ventura Downtown/Beach and Ventura East at 6175 Ventura Boulevard. That gives you a car-free option toward Los Angeles and the rest of Ventura County.
Pro: prices below the coast to the north
Zillow's typical home value in Ventura, $885,887, is less than half of Santa Barbara's $1,805,649 (September 2026). Typical rent is also lower, $2,898 against $3,642.
Pro: steady long-run home values
Zillow's typical value has risen 17.2% over five years and 63.4% over ten. It peaked at $895,023 in September 2024 and is now about 1% below that, so the city did not see the deep swings of some inland markets. Rents have grown faster, 22.4% in five years.
Pro: hospitals and county jobs in town
Community Memorial Hospital on North Brent Street and the Ventura County Medical Center on Loma Vista Road are both in the city, and the Ventura County Government Center is at Hill Road and Thille Street (OpenStreetMap). Large public and medical employers keep jobs in the city rather than only along the commute.
Pro: a community college and a full public school district
Ventura College has its main campus on Telegraph Road. Ventura Unified runs elementary schools from Pierpont to Juanamaria, middle schools including Anacapa, Balboa, Cabrillo and DATA, and Ventura, Buena, Foothill Technology, Pacific and El Camino high schools. Check results on the California School Dashboard and assignments on the district's school locator.
Pro: incomes above the state
Ventura's median household income of $103,069 is above California's $99,122, and 41.5% of adults 25 and over hold a bachelor's degree or higher (Census ACS 2020-2024). The poverty rate is 10.4%.
Pro: a historic downtown and a year-round event venue
Downtown is built around Mission San Buenaventura on East Main Street, with Grant Park and the Ventura Botanical Gardens on the hill above it. The Ventura County Fairgrounds at 10 West Harbor Boulevard holds the county fair each summer and events the rest of the year, from shows to expos.
Cons of living in Ventura
Con: buying needs a high income
At $885,887 with 20% down, the loan is about $708,710. At 7.24% the principal and interest come to about $4,830 a month, and property tax at the common 2025-26 city rate of 1.088% adds about $803, for $5,633 before insurance. Keeping that to 30% of gross income takes about $225,000 a year, more than twice the median household income.
Con: rents are high and rising
Zillow's typical rent of $2,898 a month needs a household income of about $115,900 to stay at 30%. Rent rose 3.4% in the year to September 2026, faster than home values.
Con: older homes need work
The city's median year built is 1973, and more than half of its homes were built between 1950 and 1979 (Census ACS 2020-2024). Budget for roofs, plumbing, electrical panels and sewer laterals, and get inspections that cover them.
Con: very few new homes
Only 1.1% of homes were built in 2020 or later. On October 30, 2026 Shea Homes' Del Sol was the only builder community selling in the city, from $766,761 for a townhome. See our Ventura new construction guide.
Con: property crime above nearby cities
The California DOJ recorded 1,947 property crimes by Ventura police in 2025, about 1,772 per 100,000 residents, the highest rate of the county's five largest cities and just below the statewide 1,797. The count has fallen 50% since 2014, and the violent rate was below the state's. See our Ventura crime data page.
Con: fire, flood and tsunami exposure
The hillside streets, the river corridors and the low-lying areas near the beaches and the Keys each carry different hazard maps, and insurance can cost more or be harder to place. Check every address on Cal OES MyHazards and read our California homeowners insurance guide.
Con: most trips are by car
72.4% of working residents drive alone to work and just 1.3% take public transit; 15.3% work from home (Census ACS 2020-2024). Trains and buses exist, but daily life outside downtown assumes a car.
What living in Ventura is like
Climate in Ventura
Ventura has a coastal climate, and conditions differ between the beach and the east side near Wells Road and Saticoy. We did not find an official climate summary for the city that we could open, so check the National Weather Service's Los Angeles/Oxnard office or NOAA's climate normals for the nearest station before you decide, and spend time in the area in both June and September.
Getting around Ventura
The average commute for working residents is 24.1 minutes (Census ACS 2020-2024). US 101 runs through the city along the coast, and KB Home's 2024 announcement for its Midtown community points to easy access to Highway 33 and Highway 118. Gold Coast Transit, the largest public transit operator in Ventura County, runs local buses in Ventura, Oxnard, Port Hueneme and Ojai, plus GO ACCESS paratransit. Metrolink and Amtrak cover longer trips.
Things to do in Ventura
Beaches and the pier, boat trips to the Channel Islands from the harbor, surfing at Emma Wood, the Botanical Gardens in Grant Park, Harbor Village restaurants and events at the fairgrounds cover most weekends. KB Home's Ventura page also lists the Rubicon Theatre, the Majestic Ventura Theatre and Ventura Music Hall among local venues, and Shea Homes points buyers to the Saticoy Golf Club and Woodside Linear Park on the east side.
Salary needed to live in Ventura
MIT's Living Wage Calculator, updated February 15, 2026, puts the living wage in Ventura County at $31.41 an hour for one adult with no children, or $65,328 a year before taxes, including $24,099 a year for housing. For two working adults with two children it is $38.75 an hour each, or $161,195 a year for the household. These are basic-needs budgets, and they assume renting. Buying the typical Ventura home on the terms above needs about $225,000 a year.
| Household | MIT living wage, Ventura County (hourly) |
|---|---|
| 1 adult, no children | $31.41 |
| 1 adult, 1 child | $55.75 |
| 2 adults (1 working), no children | $41.19 |
| 2 adults (both working), no children | $20.59 each |
| 2 adults (both working), 2 children | $38.75 each |
For a line-by-line budget see our Ventura cost of living guide.
Who's moving to and from Ventura
Ventura is a settled city. In the Census Bureau's 2020-2024 survey, 89.2% of residents lived in the same home a year earlier. Of those who moved, most came from elsewhere in Ventura County (6.7% of residents); 2.7% came from another California county, 1.0% from another state and 0.3% from abroad. The population was 109,857, almost unchanged from 109,910 in the 2015-2019 survey, which reflects how little new housing has been built. The median age is 41.3, older than the county's 39.6. Only 55.9% of occupied homes are owner-occupied, against 64.6% across Ventura County.
Retiring in Ventura
18.7% of Ventura residents are 65 or older (Census ACS 2020-2024). Two hospitals inside the city, Gold Coast Transit's GO ACCESS paratransit for riders who cannot use fixed-route buses, the beaches and the downtown are the main draws to weigh against the cost. On a fixed income, the property tax matters: under Prop 13 the assessed value of a home you buy can rise by at most 2% a year while you own it, so the tax set at purchase stays predictable, apart from voter-approved bonds and assessments. If you already own a California home, Prop 19 may let you carry your current assessed value to a Ventura home; see our Prop 19 guide before you sell. For age-restricted options in the area, see our guide to 55+ communities in California and our page on Leisure Village in Camarillo.
Where to live in Ventura
Zillow's neighborhood values run from $534,172 in Thille to $1,629,330 in the Marina area (September 2026). Downtown and Midtown are the most walkable and sit above $1 million. The east side, Juanamaria, Wells and Serra, is closest to the citywide value and has the newest homes. The Westside along Ventura Avenue has the lowest prices for older homes. By ZIP, Zillow's typical value runs from $858,245 in 93004 to $968,619 in 93001. For a detached house the gap is wider: Redfin's single-family median in the three months to September 2026 was $864,782 in 93004, $972,755 in 93003 and $1,698,572 in coastal 93001. See our Ventura neighborhoods guide and Ventura ZIP codes page.
Should you move to Ventura? A checklist
- Run your budget against $885,887 to buy or $2,898 a month to rent, plus insurance.
- Check fire, flood and tsunami layers for each address on MyHazards, and get an insurance quote early.
- Read the property tax rate and any special assessments for the parcel; most city parcels pay 1.088% (Ventura County property tax guide).
- Drive your commute at rush hour, or try the Metrolink or Amtrak trip.
- Check school results on the Dashboard and the address on the district locator.
- Budget for repairs if the home was built before 1980, as most were.
- Spend a weekday and a weekend in the areas you are considering.
If you want help comparing homes, see our featured local agent.