City Town Info

Visalia, CA


  • Overview
  • Almanac
  • People
  • Local
  • Schools
  • Comments

Visalia, California

Introduction to Visalia, California

The City of Visalia is part of Tulare County, California, located in the San Joaquin Valley, approximately 220 miles south of San Francisco and 185 miles north of Los Angeles. It is also the oldest town between San Francisco and Los Angeles. Visalia was founded in 1852 and incorporated in 1874. A city charter was enacted in 1923 and later amended in 1974. Visalia was named after the ancestral home (Visalia, Kentucky) of one of its earliest settlers, Nathaniel Vise. At one time a creekside settlement, Visalia has evolved into a thriving community which is able to maintain a small town feel with large city amenities. Historically, Visalia has based its economy mostly upon agriculture and related industries. In recent years, however, the city has diversified its economic base to include many other types of industrial enterprises.

Located to the northeast of Visalia is Sequoia National Park, housing groves of Giant Sequoia trees including the most massive on earth, the "General Sherman". Nearby cities include Fresno (approximately 44 miles to the northwest) and Bakersfield (approximately 75 miles to the south).

Things to do in Visalia

Visalia houses 23 parks encompassing over 220 acres of land. The city is also home to a number of cultural and recreational sites, including the following:

  • The Central California Chinese Cultural Center: Documenting the history of 19th century Chinese immigrants.
  • Mooney Grove Park: One of the largest valley oak woodlands in California.
  • Tulare County Mooney Grove Museum: Largest museum in the county, located at Mooney Grove Park.
  • Tule River Historical Society Museum
  • Lake Kaweah Marina: Boating and fishing are available at nearby Kaweah Lake.
  • Horse Creek Campground
  • KOA Campground of Visalia
  • Lemoncove Campground
  • Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks
  • Sierra Lakes Campground
  • Plaza Park

Visalia is home to the Visalia Oaks, a Minor League baseball team which is the single-A affiliate of the Colorado Rockies. Professional sports teams located in nearby cities are as follows:

  • Minor League Baseball (MiLB):
    • Fresno Grizzlies (Pacific Coast League): AAA affiliate of the San Francisco Giants
    • Bakersfield Blaze (California League): Single-A affiliate of the Texas Rangers
  • East Coast Hockey League (ECHL):
    • Fresno Falcons
    • Bakersfield Condors

Nearby Fresno is also home to the Cal State/Fresno Bulldogs (National Collegiate Athletic Association)

High Points

Visalia strengths, compared to Peers (similar size places nationally) or State (other places in California):

CategoryTrophy
Short Commute Times
(vs. State)		Top 11%Visalia Short Commute Times

Comparative Profile of Visalia, CA

Comparing Visalia to similar size places nationwide (Peers) and to other places in California (State):

Ratings range from 1 (lowest) to 10 (highest).


The People

CharacteristicCompared
to Peers		Compared
to State
Children Under 5 Years Old97
Racial Diversity87
Female Share of the Population68
Male Share of the Population53
Senior Citizens45
Well-Paid Single Men34
Age of the Population34

Families

CharacteristicCompared
to Peers		Compared
to State
Average Household Size96
Portion of People Married76

Wealth

CharacteristicCompared
to Peers		Compared
to State
Median Family Income45
College Educated Adults45
People in Middle Class or Better34
People Above Poverty34

Commute & Sprawl

CharacteristicCompared
to Peers		Compared
to State
Short Commute Times89
Walking and Biking to Work86
Working at Home86
Public Transportation Use44

Housing

CharacteristicCompared
to Peers		Compared
to State
Affordability of Property Taxes88
Housing Recently Built88
Affordability of Rents78
Seasonal and Vacation Housing44
Studio & One-Bedroom Rentals43
People Living Alone35

Crime

CharacteristicCompared
to Peers		Compared
to State
Low Violent Crime11
Low Property Crime11

Detailed pages on related topics: Visalia colleges • Visalia travel • Visalia mortgage and property.

You are visiting:
All States > California > Visalia

Additional Details

Visalia CareersVisalia Careers
Visalia career and employment information.
Visalia CollegesVisalia Colleges
Visalia colleges and trade schools.
Visalia Hotels & TravelVisalia Hotels & Travel
Visalia hotels, landmarks, tourism, transportation.
Visalia MortgageVisalia Mortgage
Visalia property, mortgage, and real estate.

Career and College Resources on CityTownInfo

Real-World Career Reports

Career Stories from workers: daily activities, job tips, best/worst job aspects, training, etc.

Career Videos. Professional videos on 800+ jobs, featuring actual employees.

Daily Career & Education News from our staff. We're an approved Google News provider!

Career Reference and Data

Resource Center. A starting point for all CityTownInfo career and college resources.

Career Overviews of hundreds of careers: descriptions, salaries, forecasts, schools, more.

Top Cities for each career. Lists and maps; salaries by city.

Top Industries. Lists of major hiring industries by career, with salaries.

City Comparisons, showing most common jobs, highest paying, etc.

Original Career Articles and Studies

Best Careers Not Requiring Degrees: Good pay, job growth, low need for degrees.

Helpful Articles, many in "how-to" format; e.g., "How to Become a Chef".

Interactive College Search Tools

College Search Scout™. Search by degree, location, major, athletics, etc.

CollegeMatch™. Find school most similar to one of interest.

College Directories and Lists

These lists link to thousands of detailed school profiles.

Colleges by State. Nearly every college and trade school in the country.

Colleges Listed Alphabetically. About 7,000 colleges & trade schools, including online schools.

Exceptional Schools. Lists of the "best/most/highest/lowest" schools.

Places Similar to Visalia

We've crunched the numbers to create PlaceMatch™, which compares thousands of cities and towns to find the places most similar to each.

Find places similar to Visalia

Additional Resources


Large City Map

Info for Visalia Government Officials

Are you an official in the Visalia government or quasi-government agency such as the chamber of commerce, visitors bureau or economic development council? If so, visit our information page for government officials to see how CityTownInfo can support you.

Spread The Word

Webmasters & Bloggers: Please link to this page on Visalia. Just copy the HTML below and paste it into your web page or blog.


Copyright © 2004-2009, Moving Traffic, Inc. All Rights Reserved.