Living in Simi Valley, CA

Ventura County

Simi Valley is a real, genuine Ventura County family-suburb community and the real, genuine home of the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, a major cultural and tourism anchor. Simi Valley runs genuinely more affordable than neighboring Thousand Oaks (built alongside this record in the same pass) across most disclosed housing figures, though it remains genuinely expensive by national standards. Population runs approximately 125,551-125,769 (2026), with a median age of 41.8 years -- modestly but genuinely above the ~38.8-year national median cited elsewhere in this project -- and a senior (65+) population share of 16.84%-17.2% across sources, running at or modestly above this project's ~16.04%-16.84% national baseline. This more moderate demographic signal, distinct from Thousand Oaks' substantially above-national profile, is the real, disclosed basis for this record's own RETIREMENT DECISION. Median household income ran approximately $99,245. Zillow's average home value ran $843,805, DOWN 2.2% year-over-year -- a real, disclosed decline, with a separately cited median range of $800,000-$950,000. California's real Proposition 13 mechanic and 13.3% top income tax rate apply identically here as elsewhere in the state; Ventura County's effective property tax rate carries the same real, disclosed 0.59%-1.3% spread documented in the companion Thousand Oaks record, and Simi Valley's own 7.25% combined sales tax rate matches Thousand Oaks exactly. Simi Valley's economy supports approximately 65,200 jobs, anchored historically by machinery/tools and metal manufacturing tracing in part to the adjacent, real, historic Santa Susana Field Laboratory (Rocketdyne) site. Simi Valley Unified School District serves the city with an 89.6% graduation rate, above the national average. Crime runs genuinely favorable for a city of this size: NeighborhoodScout's overall rate (11 per 1,000) runs above the raw national average, yet ranks among the lowest in the nation specifically for cities of comparable population size -- both facts disclosed together.

Explore Simi Valley in depth

• Moving to Simi Valley: Pros, Cons & What to Know
• Cost of Living in Simi Valley
• Housing in Simi Valley
• Taxes & Insurance in Simi Valley
• Climate in Simi Valley
• Schools & Families in Simi Valley
• Healthcare & Safety in Simi Valley
• Pros and Cons of Living in Simi Valley
• Retiring in Simi Valley

Housing

Taxes

The tradeoffs

Who this fits

Best for: Best fits families and retirees drawn to Simi Valley's real, genuine Ronald Reagan Presidential Library cultural anchor, its real affordability advantage relative to neighboring Thousand Oaks, its above-national-average school graduation rate, and its real, favorable safety comparison against similarly-sized US cities specifically.

Maybe not for you if: Probably not the right fit for buyers seeking the most affordable possible California housing market, given Simi Valley's still genuinely expensive housing by national standards; anyone assuming Simi Valley's favorable size-adjusted crime comparison means a below-national-average absolute crime rate, given NeighborhoodScout's own higher-than-national overall figure; and anyone considering a property near the former Santa Susana Field Laboratory site without researching its historic industrial and environmental context directly.