Porterville, California Demographics
Population trends, housing costs, income, commuting, and health, all on one page.
Porterville, CA Population Density Map and Area Scores
Area Score
Health, income and education, each graded from F to A+. Explore interactive maps for deeper analysis.
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C
Health Below average
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D
Income Well below average
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F
Education Well below average
Source: Map AI Methodology
Population
| Metric | Porterville | California Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Population | 54,690 | 39,245,658 | 337,468,954 |
| Population density (per sq mi) | 2897.4 | 239.4 | 86.4 |
| Population growth (%/yr) | 0.98% | 0.19% | 0.59% |
| Median age | 30.3 | 35.5 | 37.3 |
| Households | 16,507 | 13,531,619 | 130,235,071 |
Population in Porterville grew by 21.1% from 2009 to 2024, reaching 54,690 in 2024.
Population Growth 2009–2024
Race & Ethnicity
Age & Sex
The largest generation in Porterville is Gen Z, aged 13–28, at 26.6% of residents. That is 4.8 points above California as a whole.
- Gen Z 13–28 14,530 26.6% +4.8 pts
- Millennials 29–44 11,806 21.6% -2.1 pts
- Gen X 45–60 8,573 15.7% -4.2 pts
- Boomers 61–79 6,533 11.9% -3.3 pts
Residents by birth cohort, from the 2025 age distribution. The right-hand figure is how far each cohort's share sits above or below California, in percentage points. Children younger than Gen Z and the generations before the Boomers are counted in the population but not shown here, so these shares do not add up to 100%.
Male and female share
Women are 49.3% of the people living in Porterville and men 50.7%.
- Women 49.3% California 49.9%
- Men 50.7% California 50.1%
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Economy
Porterville has a the economy index of D, which means it is barely prosperous.
| Metric | Porterville | California Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $59,822 | $99,161 | $80,455 |
| Income growth (%/yr) | 6.07% | 5.57% | 4.80% |
| Unemployment rate | 10.6% | 6.6% | 5.2% |
The median household income in Porterville is about 40% lower than in California.
Housing
| Metric | Porterville | California Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median home price | $24,509 | $650,794 | $248,835 |
| Median rent | $1,123 | $2,036 | $1,407 |
| Homeownership rate | 53.4% | 55.9% | 65.2% |
The median home price in Porterville is about 1.8 years' worth of rent — buying at the median price costs roughly as much as paying the median rent of $1,123 per month for that long.
Commute Time & Mobility
Commuters in Porterville spend about 33 minutes on the road round trip each working day. Over a typical 250-day work year, that adds up to roughly 137 hours, about 5.7 full days, spent commuting.
| Metric | Porterville | California Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| One-way commute (min) | 16.4 | 23.5 | 22.4 |
| Round-trip commute (min) | 32.8 | 47.0 | 44.8 |
| Yearly time spent (hours) | 137 | 196 | 187 |
| Estimated yearly cost | $4,234 | $6,065 | $5,790 |
| Work from home | 2.6% | 17.2% | 15.0% |
| Highway traffic (vehicles/day) | 7,117 | 16,509 | 8,813 |
| Local road traffic (vehicles/day) | 3,048 | 2,449 | 1,355 |
The average commute time in Porterville is 16 minutes, shorter than the 23 minutes in California.
Estimated yearly cost applies a single national wage rule of thumb (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics average hourly earnings), not a measurement of wages in this area. Traffic volume figures come from proprietary Ticon and TrafficZoom data.
Education & Households
Porterville has a education index of F, which means it scores poorly in education.
| Metric | Porterville | California Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bachelor's degree or higher | 11.0% | 33.0% | 31.6% |
| Average household size | 3.26 | 2.84 | 2.53 |
Health
Porterville has a health index of C, which means it is somewhat healthy.
| Metric | Porterville | California Avg | U.S. Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Life expectancy (years) | 74.9 | 79.6 | 78.3 |
| Self-rated poor health | 25.8% | 16.4% | 16.3% |
| Smokers | 19.2% | 13.9% | 19.0% |
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about Porterville, California.
How many people live in Porterville, California?
About 54,690 people live in Porterville, California, in 16,507 households of 3.3 people on average. The median age is 30.3, so residents are younger than the U.S. median of 37.3 by about 7 years.
How densely populated is Porterville, California?
Averaged over its land area, Porterville, California has 2,897 people per square mile, a density typical of urban and suburban areas. That is about 34 times the U.S. average of 86.
Is Porterville, California an affordable place to live?
The median home costs 0.4 times the median household income ($24,509 against $59,822), compared with 3.1 times nationally. That is within the traditional rule of thumb of about 3 times income. Median rent of $1,123 a month takes about 23% of the median household's income, below the 30% level at which HUD considers renters cost-burdened.
Is unemployment high in Porterville, California?
Unemployment in Porterville, California is 10.6%, well above the U.S. rate of 5.2%, so job seekers may face more competition than elsewhere.
How educated are people in Porterville, California?
11.0% of adults in Porterville, California hold a bachelor's degree or higher (about 1 in 9), well below the U.S. share of 31.6%.
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