Side-by-side metrics and state or size-class ranks use the same Census and FBI fields shown on this profile. Results stay in the URL so you can bookmark or share them.
Place dossier plate
SheetPA-CALIFORNIA-PA · California, PA 5,046 pop · income 19th 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 California
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest California on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Turtle Creek · lowest
44,449
Turtle Creek · lowest
44,449 median HH income
20.4% of the leader · rank #1
California · this city
49,500
California · this city
49,500 median HH income
22.7% of the leader · rank #2
Coin · near
49,500
Coin · near
49,500 median HH income
22.7% of the leader · rank #3
Pigeon · near
49,500
Pigeon · near
49,500 median HH income
22.7% of the leader · rank #4
West Sullivan · near
49,500
West Sullivan · near
49,500 median HH income
22.7% of the leader · rank #5
Taylor · near
49,500
Taylor · near
49,500 median HH income
22.7% of the leader · rank #6
Terrell Hills · highest
217,800
Terrell Hills · highest
217,800 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 California 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: 5,046.
Agency-reported UCR totals per 100,000 population, not a neighborhood safety grade or a prediction of personal risk.
California - the verdict
Measured against every US city with at least 1,000 residents, California lands in the 19th percentile for household income and the 44th percentile for safety. Source: Census ACS + FBI UCR.
19th
percentile, household income
24th
percentile, home value
54th
percentile, median rent
44th
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: California, PA
Census ACS 2023 estimates count 5,046 residents in California, a small town within Pennsylvania. Median household income here is $49,500 per year, in the lower quartile of U.S. cities for household income, with a poverty rate of 12.0%. California's housing stock carries a median value of $142,600, and the median resident age is 21.4 years. About 29.6% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, while 53.0% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
In 2024, 0 residential building permits were authorized in California (No Permits), per Census BPS data. California reports a comparatively low crime rate: FBI UCR figures show 1577.4 crimes per 100,000 residents, below the national average (reporting is voluntary across agencies, so treat this as reporting activity rather than a definitive danger score).
Pennsylvania tracks close to the national cost-of-living baseline: BEA Regional Price Parities 2024 puts Pennsylvania at 97.6 on a 100-equals-national-average scale (Near Average). A typical two-bedroom carries a HUD Fair Market Rent of $1,225 per month statewide. Statewide, average monthly utility bills in Pennsylvania run around $260, per EIA 2023 residential energy data. On FEMA's National Risk Index, this area rates 67.4 out of 100 for natural-hazard exposure (Moderate).
A decision-led reading path
Useful questions to ask of California'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 reported crime to work and mobility to comparison shortlist to housing and income to population change; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For California, city-specific coverage includes commute-mode shares, local building permits, FBI reported-crime rates, annual population history.
No matched row is reported here for matched public-school count, within-city Census tract profiles; the page leaves those layers out instead of substituting a statewide or national value.
1. Reported crime
What can the FBI record say about safety in California?
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 1577.4 violent and property crimes per 100,000 residents, below the 2280.5 national reference used here. The difference is 31% lower in arithmetic terms, but agency participation is voluntary and reporting completeness varies.
What does the journey to work look like in California?
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 59.8%. A reliable mean commute time is not available for this row, so the mode shares carry the comparison.
Which cities make useful reference points for California?
Within Pennsylvania, the closest population matches are Turtle Creek (5,046 residents, $44,449 income); Duryea (5,054 residents, $64,028 income); Clarks Summit (5,058 residents, $91,442 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Running Springs, CA (5,043 residents); St. Clairsville, OH (5,043 residents); LaBelle, FL (5,042 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.
How far does income reach against housing in California?
The home-value-to-income reference sits in a middle range: the ACS median home value is 2.9 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 12.0%, 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. Income and home value move within the same broad scale here. The useful next check is not a generic affordability label, but whether similar-size cities offer a materially different income, housing, or commute trade-off.
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.
Population change
Is California 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 -754 residents from 2020 to 2025, a -14.0% change. Separately, Census BPS recorded 0 housing units authorized in 2024. PEP and ACS are different Census series, so the trend is kept separate from the headline ACS population.
Period change
-14.0%
2025 estimate
4,615
2020 estimate
5,369
Census Population Estimates Program, 2020–2025; permit context uses Census BPS.
Near national cost · BEA RPP 2024, Pennsylvania average
F
City profile score · California, PA
34/100
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.
Bachelor's+ share C
29.6%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Cost of living C-
97.6 index
BEA state Regional Price Parities index (100 ≈ national average); lower is stronger on this axis. Same value for every city in the state.
Poverty rate F
12.0%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Violent crime F
404 /100k
FBI UCR violent offenses per 100,000 residents; lower is stronger on this axis.
Household income F
$49,500
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
California profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Bachelor's+ share: 57/100 (C) · 29.6%
Cost of living: 50/100 (C-) · 97.6 index
Poverty rate: 32/100 (F) · 12.0%
Violent crime: 22/100 (F) · 404 /100k
Household income: 20/100 (F) · $49,500
Where California sits on home value vs crime among peer cities
California'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 - California highlighted among 27 peers.Read the chart values
California, PA (this city): home $142,600, crime 1,577/100k
St. Clairsville, OH : home $197,600, crime 142/100k
Terrell Hills, TX : home $762,200, crime 1,758/100k
Turtle Creek, PA : home $85,900, crime 62/100k
Duryea, PA : home $142,900, crime 688/100k
Clarks Summit, PA : home $236,900, crime 518/100k
Manheim, PA : home $218,100, crime 1,426/100k
New York, NY : home $751,700, crime 3,039/100k
Los Angeles, CA : home $879,500, crime 2,212/100k
Chicago, IL : home $315,200, crime 4,012/100k
Houston, TX : home $253,400, crime 5,442/100k
Phoenix, AZ : home $381,900, crime 3,125/100k
Philadelphia, PA : home $232,400, crime 5,457/100k
San Antonio, TX : home $219,700, crime 5,218/100k
San Diego, CA : home $848,500, crime 2,082/100k
Dallas, TX : home $295,300, crime 4,010/100k
San Jose, CA : home $1,187,800, crime 3,195/100k
Austin, TX : home $512,700, crime 3,709/100k
Fort Worth, TX : home $277,300, crime 3,158/100k
Columbus, OH : home $234,500, crime 3,088/100k
Indianapolis, IN : home $207,000, crime 4,214/100k
San Francisco, CA : home $1,380,500, crime 4,526/100k
Seattle, WA : home $912,100, crime 5,783/100k
Denver, CO : home $586,700, crime 5,755/100k
Oklahoma City, OK : home $215,100, crime 3,570/100k
El Paso, TX : home $171,700, crime 1,772/100k
Washington, DC : home $724,600, crime 4,514/100k
How does California compare to other US cities?
Here's how California stacks up against the full field of US cities (population 1,000+), computed live from Census and FBI data.
Household income19% higher than other cities
Home value24% pricier than other cities
Median rent54% pricier than other cities
Safety44% safer than other cities
"Safer than" reflects total crime rate from FBI UCR; the others use Census ACS estimates.
Zoom in to just Pennsylvania and the picture shifts: California ranks #317 of 402 Pennsylvania cities by lowest crime rate, a different read than the national percentile above.
How we calculate these percentiles & ranks
Each percentile compares California against every qualifying US city; each in-state rank narrows that to Pennsylvania only. Full formula and direction notes: methodology.
Pennsylvania-relative analysis
Median Gross Rent places California near the bottom of Pennsylvania's cities
Among the 1,865 Pennsylvania cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, California ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares California only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#1,487 of 1,765
16th percentile in Pennsylvania
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 1,865
0th percentile in Pennsylvania
Median Home Value
#1,117 of 1,790
38th percentile in Pennsylvania
Poverty Rate
#448 of 1,856
75th percentile in Pennsylvania
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#561 of 1,861
70th percentile in Pennsylvania
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 Pennsylvania only, not a livability score. See the methodology for the source and calculation.
Gauge source note
19th percentile nationally for median household income · 44th percentile for safety (lower crime rate). Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
California's profile vs. every US city
Income, affordability, and safety percentile
California'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 California's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$142,600Among the most affordablemore affordable than 76% 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
California's home-value-to-income ratio: 2.9×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
affordable
< 3.0×
National rank
#6,013 of 15,516
More affordable than 61% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#5,175 of 11,323
Micro cities (under 10,000)
At 2.9×, California sits in the affordable band:
national rank #6,013 of 15,516 and #5,175 of 11,323micro cities (under 10,000).
The multiple is comparatively compact among tracked cities, but a low ratio can still coexist with slow demand or household-level hardship.
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
$49,500California, PA median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context California, PA median household income (Census ACS 5-year) with U.S. national quintile shares for context. Diagonal = equality; the curve is national, not computed for California, PA.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)29.6%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)12.0%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)53.0%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
5,046
Median Income
$49,500
Median Home Value
$142,600
Median Age
21.4
Poverty Rate
12.0%
Labor force participation
53.0%
Bachelor's Degree+
29.6%
Safety & Crime
Total Crime Rate
1577.4
per 100,000 residents
Violent Crime
404.4
per 100,000 residents
Property Crime
1172.9
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.
Population Change
PEP vintage
Annual U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP) estimates, 2020–2025
California's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
5,369 residents
2021
5,097 residents
2022
4,653 residents
2023
4,646 residents
2024
4,630 residents
2025
4,615 residents
Housing Supply
BPS source
Census Bureau Building Permits Survey (BPS) - annual residential permits authorized
Total Permits (2024)
0
housing units authorized
Single-Family
0
detached homes
Multifamily
0
apartments & condos
5-Year Permit Trend (2019–2024)
Year
Total
Single-Family
Multifamily
Est. Value
2019
0
0
0
-
2020
0
0
0
-
2021
0
0
0
-
2022
2
2
0
$0.6M
2023
1
1
0
$0.3M
2024
0
0
0
-
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Drive Alone
59.8%
Carpool
8.2%
Public Transit
2.2%
Walk
15.2%
Work from Home
14.3%
Based on 2,315 workers 16 and over.
Monthly Utility Costs
Pennsylvania statewide monthly utility average (EIA 2023): $260
EIA 2023 residential energy data puts average monthly utilities across Pennsylvania at $260 (electricity about $120 , water and sewer about $52 ).
These are Pennsylvania statewide averages, not a meter reading for California. Actual bills vary by home size, usage, and local rates. Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023.
Living Costs & Risk
Pennsylvania's BEA cost-of-living index is 97.6 (Near Average; US average = 100, RPP 2024). HUD Fair Market Rent for a typical two-bedroom in the county around California is $1,225/mo. FEMA's National Risk Index, averaged to Pennsylvania statewide on PlainCities, rates natural-hazard exposure at 67.4 / 100 (Moderate).
Cost/risk geography note
Cost of living is a Pennsylvania statewide BEA average; rent is a county-level HUD Fair Market Rent for the county California sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How California compares to similar-size Pennsylvania 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, 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.