Weather: 66°F (19°C), Wind SW at 13 mph (21 km/h), 60% Humidity
Population: 109,910 (2019)
Ventura is a California coastal city, northwest of Los Angeles. It’s known for its beaches, like San Buenaventura State Beach, with long, wooden Ventura Pier. Surfer’s Point is popular for surfing and windsurfing. Landmarks on downtown’s Main Street include the Mission San Buenaventura, with its 1809 church. Boats depart Ventura Harbor for Channel Islands National Park, a habitat for rare island foxes and scrub jays.
Nestled between the Los Padres National Forest and the Pacific Ocean residents and visitors enjoy miles of sun drenched golden beaches, diverse parks and a spectacular small boat harbor. It has retained its coastal character with a backdrop of foothills and scenic vistas of the Pacific Ocean. Ventura features a warm Mediterranean climate and is a popular recreational paradise and tourist destination.
An environmentally sensitive community, Ventura offers residents and visitors surfing, sailing, golfing, skateboarding, biking, hiking, scenic, historical tours and more. Ventura is a beautifully planned community.
Ventura offers year-round recreational and cultural opportunities. Beaches, golfing, tennis, hiking, parasailing, scuba diving, jet skiing – the list of activities is unending. Bicycle enthusiasts are able to travel from Ventura to Ojai along the Ventura River Trail. This 914 mile trail provides walkers, runners, and cyclists with an easy connection to the Coast Bikeway.
Neighborhoods
The Westside: Ventura’s oldest neighborhood, the Westside, is home to family-owned businesses that have served the community for years.
The Westside vision identifies open space opportunities, public facility recommendations, and improved transportation corridors, including, Highway 33, which connects the ocean in Ventura to the mountains in Ojai.
Historic Downtown: Ventura’s historic downtown is the city’s designated Cultural District. By carefully preserving its past while welcoming the future, downtown has grown into a delightful mix of coffeehouses, outdoor cafes, restaurants, performing arts groups, retail shops, spas, salons, health clubs, antique stores, art galleries, museums and historic buildings, including City Hall and the San Buenaventura Mission.
The City of Ventura hosts an annual art walk in downtown. Art galleries are open for browsing and buying with many local artists in attendance.
Each August, Seaside Park hosts the annual Ventura County Fair, offering a blend of agricultural exhibits, live music, nightly fireworks, carnival booths, and rides.
Ventura Harbor: Ventura Harbor is home to a spectacular small boat harbor, commercial fishing fleets, and wonderful shops. The harbor is also considered one of the best kayaking spots in Southern California.
The harbor is the primary departure point and home for Channel Islands National Park. The headquarters of the Channel Islands Visitors Center, a one-stop resource for information about the five northern Channel Islands, is also located at the Harbor. The visitors’ center features a museum, a living tide pool exhibit, a tower with telescopes, a bookstore, and a picnic area. Learning at the harbor will be significantly enhanced when the proposed educational aquarium is built.
The 249,353-acre Channel Islands National Park includes Anacapa, San Miguel, Santa Cruz, Santa Rosa, and Santa Barbara Islands. Diving, kayaking, hiking, mountain biking, and camping are available on the islands. The park is home to more than 2,000 different kinds of plants and animals, many of them unique to the islands. Island Packers, a company based at Ventura Harbor, offer excursion trips to the islands and whale watching from December through March, when migrating Pacific gray whales pass through the Santa Barbara Channe.
Midtown: Midtown is one of the most diverse neighborhoods in Ventura, home to spectacular ocean views, picturesque craftsman style homes, neighborhood restaurants, and major professional buildings.
Pacific View Mall, Community Memorial Hospital, financial institutions, jewelers, furniture stores, travel agencies, distinct restaurants, and shops are all found in Midtown. Ventura’s two major hospitals and several urgent care centers, family practices, specialty clinics, and assisted living communities all thrive in this neighborhood.
Ventura County Medical Center is a full-service, acute-care public hospital. Associated with the renowned UCLA School of Medicine, the VCMC provides general medical and surgical services, orthopedic care, and a network of specialty and community outpatient clinics. The hospital has a 24-hour heliport and serves as Ventura’s paramedic base station. Ventura also offers a variety of free and low-cost clinics with family planning,
nutrition, immunization, and alcohol and drug prevention programs. There are also several convalescent hospitals.
Pierpont Community/Ventura Keys: Together, these neighborhoods make up a lovely seaside area in the middle of the City of Ventura. They offer a unique selection of restaurants, historic buildings, and housing options, including beachfront homes and homes with private boat slip access.
East End: The East End is an urban residential community with larger stores, the Auto Center mall, and some of the city’s major office buildings.
Ventura College, one of three community colleges in Ventura County, is located on Telegraph Road, at the western border of the East End. The Ventura County Government Center, the seat of government for Ventura County as well as the county courthouse, is in the East End, at the center of Victoria Avenue and Telephone Road. Assisted living communities, banks, specialty shops, grocery stores, coffee shops, and the City’s 100-acre community park are all found on the East End.
Important Facts
Ventura Facts:
- Population: 109,910 (2019)
- Households: 41,385
- Household Income: $72,393
- Median Age: 39
- Employed: 60%
- Unemployed: 6.6%
- Estimated Average Travel Time to Work: 22.73 minutes
- Average Temperature: High: 70.3 degrees/Low: 49.1 degrees
- Average Annual Rainfall: 14.67 inches
- Elevation: 36 feet above sea level
- Ventura Unified School District: (805) 641-5000
- Ventura, Incorporated: 1866
- Ventura’s Official Flower: Poinsettia
- Ventura’s Nicknames: Palm City, Poinsettia City
- Sales Tax: 7.75%
