The city recently received a Community Comparison Demographic Chart from Adam Peck of the Tulare County Workforce Investment Board. The following are some interesting statistics therefrom:
∙ The Employment Development Department (EDD) reported a 1.1% decrease in Tulare County's unemployment rate in December 2015, and the December 2015 unemployment rate is the lowest since 2007.
∙ Visalia's population as of January 1, 2014 is 130,753, making it the seventh largest city in the San Joaquin Valley behind Fresno, Sacramento, Bakersfield, Stockton, Modesto, and Salinas. We experienced a 1% population growth that year.
∙ The median household income in Visalia between 2010 and 2014 was $52,262.00, the fourth highest in the Valley. 3.1% of Visalia's population earned $200,000.00 or more annually during that time frame, 5% earned between $150,000.00 and $199,999.00, and 13.5% earned between $100,000.00 and $149,999.00. 33.8% of households earned under $35,000.00 annually.
∙ Visalia ranked third in the Valley with 7.8% of its population holding graduate or professional degrees, 14% with Bachelor's degrees, 9.7% with Associate degrees, 27% with some college, and 23.9% high school graduates. 82.4% of Visalians had a high school degree or higher.
∙ Visalia Unified School District had a 92% graduation rate in 2013-14, second in the Valley behind Clovis with a 92.1% graduation rate.
∙ As of December 2015, Visalia had a labor force of 59,500, of which 53,700 were employed.
∙ From 2010-2014, 31.9% of Visalians worked in management and professional jobs, 20.4% service, 26.1% sales and office, 9.4% natural resources, construction and maintenance, and 12.2% in production, transportation and material moving.
∙ For 2010-2014, 60.1% of Visalians lived in owner-occupied housing, while 39.9% rented. This ranks Visalia #2 in the valley for home ownership. The average household size of owner-occupied units was 2.93. Average household size of renter occupied units was 3.16 with a rental vacancy rate of 5.3%.
∙ The overall cost of living in Visalia based on a US baseline of 100, was 106.0, giving us a ranking of #6 in the valley for highest cost of living.
∙ Visalia's average commute time is 19.93 minutes, ranking Visalia #1 in the valley as the city with the shortest commute time.
Per Devon Jones, Visalia's Economic Development Manager, these statistics indicate that Visalia compares favorably with other large communities in the valley. For instance, Visalia has a lower cost of living than Clovis in terms of housing, yet has just as good a school district and a comparatively low crime index. Visalia shows a higher than average median household income, coupled with housing affordability and high home ownership. Visalia has a well-educated work force.
The 2015 sales ranking report shows that Visalia has a strong regional retail presence and a busy Mooney corridor. For instance, comparing Visalia to California in the 2015 sales ranking report, Habit Burger ranked #2 out of 31 stores, Hometown Buffet 5/73, Panera Bread, 27/364, Vallarta Supermarket, 4/35, Harbor Freight, 10/61, Hobby Lobby, 5/29, Victoria's Secret, 6/34, JC Penney, 14/70, Smart & Final, 23/119, Winco Foods, 6/30, Costco, 19/90, Ashley Furniture, 5/17, Kohls Department Stores, 34/96, and Pet Smart, 41/106.
However, more than statistics, there are many intangibles that add to our community sense of satisfaction and well-being. For instance, on March 10th, Julie Sisco Fairfield wrote the city to say: "I just wanted to give a big thanks to the police department and all those involved in the lock-downs this morning. It means so much to me to know that my kid at Valley Oak was protected and the best precautions were taken to keep them safe. It's times like these that we truly appreciate all those that keep us safe in the city." And recently, off-duty Visalia firefighter Dameon Malek helped save the life of another runner in cardiac arrest at The End of the Trail half marathon.
Yes, we have many reasons to be happy that we live in a great community like Visalia.
If you have questions or topics regarding the city which you would like to have addressed in future articles, please email Warren at warren.gubler@visalia.city, or call (559) 713-4400 x 3313. For past articles, visit directfromwarren.blogspot.com.
