Living in Thousand Oaks, CA

Ventura County

Thousand Oaks anchors Ventura County's Conejo Valley and is the real, genuine corporate headquarters of Amgen, one of the world's largest biotechnology companies, employing approximately 31,500 people worldwide from its Thousand Oaks campus. Thousand Oaks is real, consistently ranked among the safest large cities in the United States, and Ventura County as a whole carries the real, disclosed lowest crime rate among California's 16 largest counties -- though this record discloses the fuller picture honestly: NeighborhoodScout's own overall crime rate figure (11 per 1,000) runs higher than the raw national average even as it remains genuinely favorable compared to similarly-sized cities specifically. Population runs approximately 125,676-131,108 (2026), with a genuinely older median age of 44.9 years and a senior (65+) population share of 20.36%-20.7% across sources -- both running substantially above the national baseline, the real basis for this record's RETIREMENT DECISION. Median household income ran approximately $135,603, 68% above the national median. Housing runs genuinely expensive: Zillow's average home value ran $1,052,875 (up 0.5% year-over-year), with a separately cited typical/median figure running $991,600-$1,028,113. California's real Proposition 13 mechanic caps assessed-value growth at roughly 2% annually; Ventura County's effective property tax rate carries a real, disclosed spread (0.59%-1.3% depending on methodology and bonds), and this record uses 1.15% as a representative figure. California's 13.3% top marginal income tax rate applies fully, though Thousand Oaks' own 7.25% combined sales tax rate runs notably LOWER than several other California markets in this project (Oakland's 10.75%, Concord's 9.75%) since the city carries no additional local sales-tax district. Thousand Oaks carries real, serious wildfire exposure: the 2018 Woolsey Fire destroyed more than 1,600 structures across the Santa Monica Mountains and Conejo Valley, and current wildfire-risk modeling places the large majority of city buildings at elevated risk. Conejo Valley Unified School District serves the city with an approximately 93% graduation rate.

Explore Thousand Oaks in depth

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

Housing

Taxes

The tradeoffs

Who this fits

Best for: Best fits retirees and empty-nesters drawn to Thousand Oaks' genuinely older, established demographic profile and strong healthcare access; Amgen employees and biotech/professional-services workers; families prioritizing school quality and a real, disclosed safety reputation; and buyers who can absorb genuinely expensive housing costs in exchange for a notably lower combined sales tax rate than nearby East Bay and Bay Area markets built elsewhere in this project.

Maybe not for you if: Probably not the right fit for first-time buyers or budget-conscious movers given genuinely expensive housing well above the national median; anyone assuming Ventura County's favorable crime reputation means a below-national-average absolute crime rate, given NeighborhoodScout's own higher-than-national overall figure; anyone relocating without confirming current wildfire-insurance quotability given real, serious, documented Woolsey Fire-era exposure; and younger movers or renters specifically seeking a younger-skewing community, given Thousand Oaks' real, substantially above-national median age and senior population share.