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Place dossier plate
SheetCA-TEHACHAPI-CA · Tehachapi, CA 12,366 pop · income 47th pct
Instrument codes from this place’s ACS population and household income, BEA state COL, FBI safety, national income percentile, photo-finish peer city, home-value band, and matched Census-tract book - not a moving recommendation.
Income neighbourhood around Tehachapi
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Tehachapi on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Mendota · lowest
46,458
Mendota · lowest
46,458 median HH income
24.8% of the leader · rank #1
Phillipsburg · near
67,782
Phillipsburg · near
67,782 median HH income
36.1% of the leader · rank #2
Plymouth · near
67,784
Plymouth · near
67,784 median HH income
36.1% of the leader · rank #3
Tehachapi · this city
67,785
Tehachapi · this city
67,785 median HH income
36.1% of the leader · rank #4
Craig · near
67,788
Craig · near
67,788 median HH income
36.1% of the leader · rank #5
Monticello · near
67,788
Monticello · near
67,788 median HH income
36.1% of the leader · rank #6
San Marino · highest
187,633
San Marino · highest
187,633 median HH income
100.0% of the leader · rank #7
What this shows Neighbourhood peers only - not a full nationwide city board. Open a near peer when the gap is small; open the poles when the spread is wide.
Compare beyond this state
Nationwide peers by population, income, and FBI crime rate
Out-of-state nearest neighbors for Tehachapi on ACS population and median household income
, plus FBI UCR reporting rate when the extract covers this place. Link sets are deduped so each column is a distinct comparison path, not a forecast that peers share a labor market or climate.
Similar population
Nearest out-of-state cities by ACS population. This city: 12,366.
Agency-reported UCR totals per 100,000 population, not a neighborhood safety grade or a prediction of personal risk.
Tehachapi - the verdict
Tehachapi ranks in the 47th percentile for household income and the 14th percentile for safety nationally, out of every US city with at least 1,000 residents. Source: Census ACS + FBI UCR.
47th
percentile, household income
71st
percentile, home value
88th
percentile, median rent
14th
percentile, safety
📝 How we sourced this
Population, income, and housing-cost figures come from the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates (B-series tables). Crime data uses FBI UCR; climate uses NOAA Climate Normals; school counts come from NCES Common Core of Data; permits use the Census Building Permits Survey (BPS). See our methodology page for the full ETL pipeline and OMB / FIPS join keys.
Data Snapshot: Tehachapi, CA
Tehachapi is a small town in California, home to 12,366 residents per U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2023 estimates. The typical household in Tehachapi brings in $67,785 a year, below the median for U.S. cities on this measure, with a poverty rate of 4.8%. Home values in Tehachapi run a median of $344,700, and the median resident age is 39.2 years. 14.5% of adults here have a bachelor's degree or higher; 31.4% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
In 2024, 49 residential building permits were authorized in Tehachapi (Building Boom), up 227% from five years earlier, per Census BPS data. Tehachapi's reported crime rate runs above the national norm: FBI UCR figures show 3124.1 crimes per 100,000 residents, above the national average (reporting is voluntary across agencies, so treat this as reporting activity rather than a definitive danger score). NOAA puts Tehachapi's yearly average temperature at 54.5°F with 12.7 inches of precipitation per year.
California carries a cost-of-living premium: BEA Regional Price Parities 2024 puts California at 110.7 on a 100-equals-national-average scale (Well Above Average). HUD Fair Market Rent for a typical two-bedroom in this state is $2,053 per month. EIA 2023 residential energy data puts California's average monthly utility costs around $275 (state average). FEMA's National Risk Index rates natural-hazard exposure at 88.7 out of 100 (Very High).
A decision-led reading path
Useful questions to ask of Tehachapi's data
How this reading path is ordered
This is not a composite city score. It is a city-specific route through the available public records, ordered for this profile so the page starts with questions the joined data can actually answer. The route here runs from population change to schools and households to comparison shortlist to work and mobility to climate and hazard context to housing and income to reported crime; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Tehachapi, city-specific coverage includes annual population history, FBI reported-crime rates, matched public-school count, local building permits, commute-mode shares.
No matched row is reported here for within-city Census tract profiles; the page leaves those layers out instead of substituting a statewide or national value.
1. Population change
Is Tehachapi growing, shrinking, or holding steady?
Recent estimates point downward. A falling count can reflect migration, household size, annexation boundaries, or estimation noise, so it is a prompt to inspect the full series rather than a claim about local economic health.
Census PEP estimates show the population declined by -1,153 residents from 2020 to 2025, a -8.9% change. Separately, Census BPS recorded 49 housing units authorized in 2024. PEP and ACS are different Census series, so the trend is kept separate from the headline ACS population.
What does the education layer cover for Tehachapi?
The NCES join finds 8 public schools within the city match. 14.5% of adults age 25+ hold a bachelor's degree or higher in the ACS estimate. These measures answer different questions: the school count describes local institutions, while adult attainment describes residents and cannot be used as a school-quality rating.
The city has a broader matched school footprint, but count alone does not describe performance, capacity, program availability, or attendance boundaries. This profile deliberately avoids converting it into an unsupported family-friendliness score.
Which cities make useful reference points for Tehachapi?
Within California, the closest population matches are Fortuna (12,413 residents, $61,603 income); Newman (12,299 residents, $75,344 income); San Marino (12,279 residents, $187,633 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Patchogue, NY (12,368 residents); Valley Falls, RI (12,370 residents); Eureka, MO (12,371 residents). A third, income-matched reference set of 6 out-of-state cities sits in the income neighbourhood chart near the Place Dossier plate. These are mechanical peer sets, not claims that the places share a labor market, climate, culture, or metro context.
Use the in-state set to hold state policy and broad price conditions more nearly constant. Use the nationwide size set to ask whether cities with a similar resident count produce different housing, income, or commute outcomes. The income set is a third lens, deliberately separate from population matching. The nationwide peer panel below adds a fourth FBI UCR reporting-rate lens, not personal risk.
What does the journey to work look like in Tehachapi?
Mode share answers how workers usually travel; it does not measure congestion, reliability, distance to a particular job, or the quality of transit service. No single mode completely explains the work trip here. The mix is more useful than a one-number commute grade, especially when comparing places where transit, walking, and remote work divide the non-driving share differently.
Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 78.0%. A reliable mean commute time is not available for this row, so the mode shares carry the comparison.
These joined records add useful context, but they do not need another full-size panel. Each remains a separate measure with its own geography and source boundary.
Climate and hazard context
What physical conditions frame life in Tehachapi?
NOAA normals put the annual mean temperature at 54.5°F, with 12.7 inches of precipitation. FEMA's state-averaged National Risk Index score for California is 88.7 out of 100. Climate normals describe long-run weather; the FEMA score on PlainCities is a state average of county NRI inputs and combines hazards, exposure, vulnerability, and resilience.
The two sources should not be blended into one comfort or safety score. Use the climate values for baseline conditions and the risk index as a prompt to inspect specific hazards, insurance, and local emergency guidance for a particular address.
Mean temperature
54.5°F
Annual precipitation
12.7 in
FEMA risk index (state avg)
88.7
NOAA Climate Normals and FEMA National Risk Index (state-averaged on PlainCities). Hazard context is not address-level.
How far does income reach against housing in Tehachapi?
The home-value-to-income reference is comparatively stretched: the ACS median home value is 5.1 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 4.8%, which keeps the citywide median from describing every household.
This is a citywide price-to-income reference, not a mortgage-affordability test; it does not include interest rates, taxes, insurance, household size, or an individual buyer's down payment. Housing value is high relative to the citywide income median. That flags a question for comparison, not a verdict: tenure, household composition, financing costs, and the age of the ACS estimate can all change what a resident actually pays.
Household income
$67,785
Home value
$344,700
Value / income
5.1×
City-level Census ACS 2023 medians. The ratio divides two separate medians and is descriptive only.
What can the FBI record say about safety in Tehachapi?
Treat this as a reporting-rate comparison, not a prediction of personal risk or a neighborhood-level safety grade. Tourism, daytime population, reporting practices, and variation inside the city are not adjusted away. The state rank and same-state peer table are the narrower comparisons available on this page.
The joined FBI UCR record reports 3124.1 violent and property crimes per 100,000 residents, above the 2280.5 national reference used here. The difference is 37% higher in arithmetic terms, but agency participation is voluntary and reporting completeness varies.
Property rate
2549.9
Violent rate
574.2
Total reported rate
3124.1
FBI Uniform Crime Reporting, incidents per 100,000. Voluntary agency reporting; not a danger score.
Below median income · poverty 4.8% (Below-median poverty)
Cost of Living Index (state)
110.7 (US=100)
Highest-decile cost · BEA RPP 2024, California average
F
City profile score · Tehachapi, CA
31/100
5 published dimensions · ACS/FBI 2023
Comparative score against U.S. cities with population of 1,000 or more on Census ACS medians
(income, poverty, bachelor's share, cost of living) and FBI UCR violent-crime rates when
published. Higher means a stronger standing on those published figures, not a livability
rating, not a recommendation to move, buy, or pick a "best" city. Missing inputs drop out
and redistribute weight.
How it is calculated.
Poverty rate B-
4.8%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Household income D
$67,785
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
Bachelor's+ share F
14.5%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Violent crime F
574 /100k
FBI UCR violent offenses per 100,000 residents; lower is stronger on this axis.
Cost of living F
110.7 index
BEA state Regional Price Parities index (100 ≈ national average); lower is stronger on this axis. Same value for every city in the state.
Tehachapi profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Poverty rate: 67/100 (B-) · 4.8%
Household income: 46/100 (D) · $67,785
Bachelor's+ share: 19/100 (F) · 14.5%
Violent crime: 11/100 (F) · 574 /100k
Cost of living: 6/100 (F) · 110.7 index
Where Tehachapi sits on home value vs crime among peer cities
Tehachapi's median home value and FBI crime rate plotted with similar-size and
same-state peers (padded with large cities when the peer set is thin). The second
read: pricey does not always mean safer, check which quadrant this city lands in.
Census ACS median home value vs FBI UCR crime rate - Tehachapi highlighted among 9 peers.Read the chart values
Tehachapi, CA (this city): home $344,700, crime 3,124/100k
Eureka, MO : home $352,200, crime 995/100k
Palmer, MA : home $255,000, crime 949/100k
Fortuna, CA : home $353,200, crime 1,400/100k
Newman, CA : home $381,900, crime 543/100k
San Marino, CA : home $2,000,000+, crime 1,210/100k
Big Bear, CA : home $427,700, crime 3,704/100k
Mendota, CA : home $250,400, crime 1,359/100k
Lindsay, CA : home $268,400, crime 1,904/100k
How does Tehachapi compare to other US cities?
Here's how Tehachapi stacks up against the full field of US cities (population 1,000+), computed live from Census and FBI data.
Household income47% higher than other cities
Home value71% pricier than other cities
Median rent88% pricier than other cities
Safety14% safer than other cities
"Safer than" reflects total crime rate from FBI UCR; the others use Census ACS estimates.
Zoom in to just California and the picture shifts: Tehachapi ranks #369 of 441 California cities by lowest crime rate, a different read than the national percentile above.
How we calculate these percentiles & ranks
Each percentile compares Tehachapi against every qualifying US city; each in-state rank narrows that to California only. Full formula and direction notes: methodology.
California-relative analysis
Median Gross Rent places Tehachapi near the bottom of California's cities
Among the 1,458 California cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Tehachapi ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Tehachapi only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#951 of 1,338
29th percentile in California
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 1,458
0th percentile in California
Median Home Value
#976 of 1,343
27th percentile in California
Poverty Rate
#862 of 1,450
40th percentile in California
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#1,065 of 1,458
27th percentile in California
How in-state ranks are ordered
Ranked by raw value (highest first); a higher rank is not automatically "better" for every measure, see each metric's own context above. This is a comparison within California only, not a livability score. See the methodology for the source and calculation.
Gauge source note
47th percentile nationally for median household income · 14th percentile for safety (lower crime rate). Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
Tehachapi's profile vs. every US city
Income, affordability, and safety percentile
Tehachapi's percentile rank on 3 favorable-direction measures (income, affordability, safety) vs. every tracked US city -- higher on every axis is more favorable. Not a composite quality score, just the arithmetic mean of the axes shown.
How Tehachapi's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$344,70029th percentilemore affordable than 29% of 15,600 US cities
Show national distribution
Each bar is a $25K-wide band; taller bars hold more US cities. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2023
Tehachapi's home-value-to-income ratio: 5.1×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
pressured
> 5.0×
National rank
#13,048 of 15,516
More affordable than 16% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#2,659 of 3,317
Small cities (10,000–49,999)
At 5.1×, Tehachapi sits in the pressured band:
national rank #13,048 of 15,516 and #2,659 of 3,317small cities (10,000–49,999).
Housing value is high relative to the citywide income median, a comparison flag, not a verdict on any household.
How this ratio is calculated
Ratio = Census ACS 2023 median home value ÷ median household income for cities with both fields and population ≥ 1,000.
Rank 1 = lowest ratio (most compact). Bands match the fleet affordability thresholds used on guides (<3.0 / 3.0–5.0 / >5.0).
This is not a mortgage payment estimate and does not include rates, taxes, insurance, or down payment.
Income distribution context
$67,785Tehachapi, CA median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Tehachapi, CA median household income (Census ACS 5-year) with U.S. national quintile shares for context. Diagonal = equality; the curve is national, not computed for Tehachapi, CA.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)14.5%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)4.8%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)31.4%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
12,366
Median Income
$67,785
Median Home Value
$344,700
Median Age
39.2
Poverty Rate
4.8%
Labor force participation
31.4%
Bachelor's Degree+
14.5%
Safety & Crime
Total Crime Rate
3124.1
per 100,000 residents
Violent Crime
574.2
per 100,000 residents
Property Crime
2549.9
per 100,000 residents
Crime reporting caveat
Reflects incidents reported to the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting program — agency participation is voluntary and reporting completeness varies by jurisdiction and year, so this reflects reporting activity, not a definitive danger score. Not adjusted for tourism, commuter, or daytime population.
Climate
Avg Temperature
54.5°F
Annual Precipitation
12.7"
Annual Snowfall
N/A
Schools
Total Schools
8
Public schools in this city
Population Change
PEP vintage
Annual U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP) estimates, 2020–2025
Tehachapi's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
13,005 residents
2021
12,315 residents
2022
12,361 residents
2023
10,947 residents
2024
11,043 residents
2025
11,852 residents
Housing Supply
BPS source
Census Bureau Building Permits Survey (BPS) - annual residential permits authorized
📈 Building Boom
Total Permits (2024)
49
housing units authorized
Single-Family
30
detached homes
Multifamily
19
apartments & condos
Supply Intensity
4
permits per 1,000 residents
5-Year Permit Trend (2019–2024)
Year
Total
Single-Family
Multifamily
Est. Value
2019
15
15
0
$3.3M
2020
0
0
0
-
2021
7
7
0
$2.8M
2022
15
15
0
$6.7M
2023
31
31
0
$14.2M
2024
49
30
19
$15.8M
Permit volume increased 227% from 2019 to 2024.
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Drive Alone
78.0%
Carpool
13.2%
Public Transit
0.0%
Walk
0.7%
Work from Home
6.4%
Other
1.7%
Based on 3,270 workers 16 and over.
Monthly Utility Costs
California statewide monthly utility average (EIA 2023): $275
EIA 2023 residential energy data puts average monthly utilities across California at $275 (electricity about $150 , water and sewer about $70 ).
These are California statewide averages, not a meter reading for Tehachapi. Actual bills vary by home size, usage, and local rates. Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023.
Living Costs & Risk
California's BEA cost-of-living index is 110.7 (Well Above Average; US average = 100, RPP 2024). HUD Fair Market Rent for a typical two-bedroom in the county around Tehachapi is $2,053/mo. FEMA's National Risk Index, averaged to California statewide on PlainCities, rates natural-hazard exposure at 88.7 / 100 (Very High).
Cost/risk geography note
Cost of living is a California statewide BEA average; rent is a county-level HUD Fair Market Rent for the county Tehachapi sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Tehachapi compares to similar-size California cities
Same-state peer method
Closest same-state population matches, not geographic neighbors. Population + median household income come from Census Bureau ACS 5-year B01001 and B19013.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year 2023, FBI UCR, NOAA Climate Normals, NCES CCD, Census BPS 2024, Census ACS B08301/B08136, U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023, BEA Regional Price Parities 2024, HUD Fair Market Rents 2026, FEMA National Risk Index.