Ventura, officially the City of San Buenaventura (Spanish for "Saint Bonaventure"), is a city in and the county seat of Ventura County, California, United States. It is a coastal city located northwest of Los Angeles. The population was 110,763 at the 2020 United States census. Ventura is a popular tourist destination, owing to its historic landmarks, beaches, and resorts.
Ventura has been inhabited by different peoples, including the Chumash Native Americans, for at least 10,000 years. With the arrival of Spanish missionaries in 1782, Mission San Buenaventura was established by Junípero Serra, giving the city its name. Following the Mexican secularization act of 1833, San Buenaventura was granted by Governor Pío Pico to Don José de Arnaz as Rancho Ex-Mission San Buenaventura and a small community arose. Following the American Conquest of California, San Buenaventura was eventually incorporated as a city in 1866. The 1920s brought a major oil boom which significantly developed and expanded Ventura, a growth that continued with the post–World War II economic expansion.
History
Chumash
Archaeological discoveries in the area suggest that humans have populated the region for at least 10,000–12,000 years. Archaeological research demonstrates that the Chumash people have deep roots in central and southern coastal regions of California, and has revealed artifacts from their culture. Shisholop Village, designated Historic Point of Interest #18 by the city, was the site of a Chumash village. They had keen oceanic navigational skills made use of the abundant local resources from sea and land. The Ventura Chumash were in contact with the Channel Islands Chumash; both mainland and island Chumash utilized large plank-sewn seagoing canoes, called Tomol, with the island people bringing shell bead money, island chert, and sea otter pelts to trade for mainland products like acorns and deer meat.
Spanish era
In 1769, the Spanish Portolà expedition, first recorded European visitors to inland areas of California, came down the Santa Clara River Valley from the previous night's encampment near today's Saticoy and camped near the outlet of the Ventura River on August 14. Fray Juan Crespi, a Franciscan missionary traveling with the expedition, noted that "we saw a regular town, the most populous and best laid-out of all that we had seen on the journey up to the present time." Archaeological records found that the Chumash village they encountered was settled sometime around AD 1000.
Junípero Serra, first leader of the Franciscans in California, founded Mission San Buenaventura in 1782 as his ninth and last mission established near the Chumash village as part of Spain's colonization of Alta California. The mission was named for St. Bonaventure, a 13th-century Franciscan saint and a Doctor of the Church. San Miguel Chapel was the first outpost and center of operations while the first Mission San Buenaventura was being constructed. The first mission burned in 1801 and a replacement building of brick and stone was completed in 1809. The bell tower and facade of the new mission was destroyed by an 1812 earthquake. The Mission was rebuilt and functions as a parish church.
Mexican era
The Mexican secularization act of 1833 was passed twelve years after Mexico won independence from Spain in 1821. Mission land was sold or given away in large grants called ranchos. Rancho Ex-Mission San Buenaventura was a 48,823-acre (197.58 km2) grant that included downtown Ventura. The Battle of San Buenaventura was fought in 1838 between competing armies from northern and southern California. Governor Juan Bautista Alvarado granted Rancho San Miguel to Felipe Lorenzana and Raymundo Olivas, whose Olivas Adobe on the banks of the Santa Clara River was the most magnificent hacienda south of Monterey. Fernando Tico also received a Mexican land grant for Ojai and a parcel near the river in downtown Ventura.
American era
Following the American Conquest of California in the Mexican–American War, California became a U.S. territory in 1848 and a U.S. state in 1850. After the American Civil War, settlers came to the area, buying land from the Mexicans, or simply as squatters. Vast holdings were later acquired by Easterners, including railroad magnate Thomas A. Scott. He sent Thomas R. Bard to handle Scott's property.
Ventura had a flourishing Chinese settlement in the early 1880s. The largest concentration of activity, known as China Alley, was just across Main Street from the Mission San Buenaventura.
Ventura Pier was built in 1872 at a cost of $45,000 and was the longest wooden pier in California. By 1917, it had been rebuilt to a length of 1,700 feet (520 m). Much of the pier was destroyed by a storm in 1995, but it was subsequently rebuilt.
In 1913, the Rincon Sea Level Road and the Ventura River Bridge opened.
The large Ventura Oil Field was first drilled in 1919 and at its peak produced 90,000 barrels per day (14,000 m3/d). The development of the oil fields in the 1920s, along with the building of better roads to Los Angeles and the affordability of automobiles, enabled a major real estate boom. Symphony concerts and Little League teams were sponsored by the oil companies. Contemporary downtown Ventura is defined by extant buildings from this period. Landmarks built during the oil boom include Ventura Theatre (1928), the First Baptist Church of Ventura (1926), the Ventura Hotel (1926), and the Mission Theatre (1928).
On March 12, 1928, the St. Francis Dam, 54 miles (87 km) inland, failed catastrophically, creating a flood that took more than 600 lives as it flowed down the Santa Clara River to the ocean.
From the south, travel by auto was slow and hazardous, until the completion of a four-lane freeway (US Highway 101) over the Conejo Grade in 1959. This route, which was widened and improved by 1969, is known as the Ventura Freeway, which directly links Ventura with the rest of the Greater Los Angeles.
In 2017, the Thomas Fire started north of Ventura in Santa Paula. Propelled by the Santa Ana Winds, the fire spread into hillside neighborhoods of Ventura and the area above downtown. The fire burned down 504 residences burned in the city.
Main Street in the downtown was closed to vehicle traffic in June 2020 in an effort to boost business and keep people safe during the COVID-19 pandemic. In January 2025, the Ventura City Council voted to keep Main Street closed and proceed with its designation of a formal pedestrian mall.
Geography
Ventura is located northwest of Los Angeles on the California coast. The western portion of the city stretches north along the Ventura River which is characterized by a narrow valley with steeply sloped areas along both sides. The steep slopes of the Ventura foothills abut the northern portion of the community. Much of the eastern portion is on a relatively flat alluvial coastal plain lying along the western edge of the Oxnard Plain. Several Barrancas extend from the foothills to the Santa Clara River which forms the city's southerly boundary. The city extends up to the beginning of the Santa Clara River Valley at the historic community of Saticoy.
Ventura is within a seismically active region like much of California and is crossed by several potentially active fault systems. The Ventura Fault is capable of an 8.0 earthquake and a local tsunami up to 7 metres (23 feet) in height. According to the United States Census Bureau, Ventura has a total area of 32.3 square miles (84 km2), of which 21.9 square miles (57 km2) is land and 10.4 square miles (27 km2), comprising 32.23%, is water.
Climate
Ventura has a Mediterranean climate, typical of most coastal California cities, with the sea breeze off the Pacific Ocean moderating temperatures. It is not uncommon for the city to be affected by Santa Ana winds off the Transverse Ranges on occasion, which increase temperatures dramatically.
Demographics
The community is registered in the census as San Buenaventura (Ventura).
2020
The 2020 United States census reported that Ventura had a population of 110,763. The population density was 5,061.1 inhabitants per square mile (1,954.1/km2). The racial makeup of Ventura was 61.5% White, 1.8% African American, 1.5% Native American, 4.0% Asian, 0.2% Pacific Islander, 14.2% from other races, and 16.8% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 35.1% of the population.
The census reported that 97.5% of the population lived in households, 1.7% lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 0.8% were institutionalized.
There were 42,214 households, out of which 28.9% included children under the age of 18, 46.3% were married-couple households, 7.9% were cohabiting couple households, 28.2% had a female householder with no partner present, and 17.6% had a male householder with no partner present. 26.5% of households were one person, and 12.5% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.56. There were 27,462 families (65.1% of all households).
The age distribution was 20.1% under the age of 18, 7.7% aged 18 to 24, 26.6% aged 25 to 44, 26.9% aged 45 to 64, and 18.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41.4 years. For every 100 females, there were 94.4 males.
There were 44,612 housing units at an average density of 2,038.5 units per square mile (787.1 units/km2), of which 42,214 (94.6%) were occupied. Of these, 55.3% were owner-occupied, and 44.7% were occupied by renters.
In 2023, the US Census Bureau estimated that the median household income was $100,407, and the per capita income was $49,411. About 6.4% of families and 10.4% of the population were below the poverty line.
2010
The 2010 United States census reported that Ventura had a population of 106,433. The population density was 3,316.2 inhabitants per square mile (1,280.4/km2). The racial makeup of Ventura was 76.6% White, 1.6% African American, 1.2% Native American, 3.4% Asian (0.9% Filipino, 0.6% Chinese, 0.4% Indian, 0.4% Korean, 0.4% Japanese, 0.3% Vietnamese, 0.5% Other), 0.2% Pacific Islander, 5.2% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 31.8% of the population.
The Census reported that 103,940 people (97.7% of the population) lived in households, 755 (0.7%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 1,738 (1.6%) were institutionalized.
There were 40,438 households, out of which 13,014 (32.2%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 18,907 (46.8%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 4,936 (12.2%) had a female householder with no husband present, 2,153 (5.3%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 2,621 (6.5%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 371 (0.9%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 10,959 households (27.1%) were made up of individuals, and 4,271 (10.6%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.57. There were 25,996 families (64.3% of all households); the average family size was 3.14.
The population was spread out, with 23,918 people (22.5%) under the age of 18, 9,581 people (9.0%) aged 18 to 24, 28,814 people (27.1%) aged 25 to 44, 29,957 people (28.1%) aged 45 to 64, and 14,163 people (13.3%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39.0 years. For every 100 females, there were 97.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.6 males.
There were 42,827 housing units at an average density of 1,334.4 per square mile (515.2/km2), of which 22,600 (55.9%) were owner-occupied, and 17,838 (44.1%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.3%; the rental vacancy rate was 5.5%. 59,330 people (55.7% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 44,610 people (41.9%) lived in rental housing units.
Economy
Ventura is a popular tourist destination in Southern California, owing to its historic landmarks, beaches, and the local leisure economy. Businesses related to tourism and hospitality account for a significant portion of Ventura's economic activity.
The outdoor clothing manufacturer Patagonia is based in Ventura. Diaper bag manufacturer Petunia Pickle Bottom was founded in Ventura. Research and resource company The Barna Group is located near downtown Ventura.
In 2009 the City of Ventura created Ventura Ventures Technology Center, a business incubator with a high-tech focus. Ventura Ventures Technology Center was created as an economic engine to develop jobs and companies locally, as well as attract entrepreneurs to the area. The Trade Desk was started in the incubator. The Trade Desk, an industry leader in advertising on streaming services, is the second biggest publicly-traded company in Ventura County by market capitalization.
Top employers
According to the city's 2020 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the top employers in the city are: