Santa Paula is a city in Ventura County, California, in the Santa Clara River Valley, a productive agricultural corridor between the coastal plain and the mountains inland from Ventura. The 2020 census counted 30,673 residents within a compact area of 4.6 square miles. The city has long marketed itself as the "Citrus Capital of the World," a title rooted in the citrus groves that once dominated the valley and still mark its landscape, and in the packing and shipping industry that built the town. Santa Paula's history is unusually layered for a city of its size. Alongside citrus, it was an early center of California's petroleum industry: the Union Oil Company of California was founded here in 1890, and its original headquarters building now houses the California Oil Museum. The downtown preserves this past visibly, with the Santa Paula Mural Project's series of murals depicting the Chumash, citrus harvesting, oil discovery, farming, and the founding of the local airport, alongside the Santa Paula Art Museum and the Museum of Ventura County Agriculture Museum. Education is provided by the Santa Paula Unified School District, which operates six elementary schools, a middle school, and comprehensive and continuation high schools. State Route 150 climbs from the city through the hills to Ojai, while State Route 126 connects east toward Fillmore and west toward the coast, placing Ventura and the Pacific within easy reach. The Santa Paula Canyon Trail offers a popular local hike. Santa Paula suits those seeking a historic, culturally rich small city in an agricultural setting, with the coast and Ojai's amenities a short drive away.