The Maidu people were settled in the region when they were first encountered by Spanish and Mexican scouting expeditions in the early 18th century.

On the map of the area made by Jean Jacques Vioget in 1841, a Maidu rancheria called Buba, noted in Stephen Powers' 1877 book The Tribes of California as the village of Yú-ba, was located at the present site of Yuba City.

At the same time, another town was developing on the eastern bank of the Feather River, the beginnings of what later would become Marysville.

By 1852, Yuba City was a steamboat landing, had one hotel, a grocery store, a post office, and approximately 20 dwelling homes with a population of about 150.

Orchards were turned into residential areas as new homes were built for people migrating to the city.

The Christmas Eve levee break at Yuba City was particularly disastrous, with 38 people losing their lives,[12] and heavy damage occurring in the downtown section.

[14] On March 14, 1961, a Boeing B-52 Stratofortress carrying nuclear weapons, flying near Yuba City, encountered a pressurization problem, and had to drop to a lower altitude.

The weapons, two Mark 39 (3.8 megatons each) thermonuclear bombs (identified from declassified Department of Energy films and photographs) were destroyed on impact though no explosion took place, and there was no release of radioactive material as a result.

[16] On February 24, 1978, five young men from Yuba City, Gary Dale Mathias, Jack Madruga, Jackie Huett, Theodore (Ted) Weiher and William Sterling, aged between 24 and 32 years, disappeared under mysterious circumstances.

Inside the trailer there was enough food to supply all five men for about a year, and enough paper and wood to light a fire, but nothing was used this way.

[17][18] Yuba City has been home to a significant Muslim population, including Pakistani Americans descended from c. 1902 immigrants.

In 1994 the Muslim community completed a mosque that cost an estimated $1.8 million and many hours of donated work.

On April 12, 2020, a retired 64 year old veteran named Gregory Gross was assaulted by Yuba City police officers Joshua Jackson, Scott Hansen and Nathan Livingston after they had charged Gross for driving while intoxicated.

After twisting his arm and stating that he was now using "pain compliance techniques," Jackson proceeded to throw Gross face first into the ground, severing his vertebrae and leaving him permanently paralyzed.

[20][21] Jackson was afterwards allowed to retire, while Hansen and Livingston remained officers with the Yuba City Police Department.

[20] No charges have been brought against any of the officers, despite body camera video emerging which captured the prolonged abuse of the handcuffed senior citizen.

During the wet season from mid-October to mid-April, Yuba City sees frequent rain and is usually under the tule fog.

The Delta Breeze, which comes from the Bay Area on summer nights, helps cool temperatures and adds humidity.

At times the Delta Breeze is strong enough to bring coastal fog inland to the Sacramento Valley.

There were 23,174 housing units at an average density of 1,581.2 per square mile (610.5/km2), of which 12,266 (56.9%) were owner-occupied, and 9,284 (43.1%) were occupied by renters.

The European population in Yuba City was 0.5% Romanian, 0.3% Italian, and 1.6% German[citation needed].

The Amtrak Thruway 3 provides thrice daily connections from neighboring Marysville (with a stop at 858 I Street) to/from Sacramento and Stockton[31] The city is served by two highways.

Yuba City is home to the largest dried fruit processing plant in the world,[32] Sunsweet Growers Incorporated.

This was primarily due to rise in costs, difficulty in securing sponsors, and competition from other festivals.

Some other notable employers include the Geweke Auto Group, Hilbers Incorporated, SharpeSoft, Jaeger Construction, Ardent Mills (formerly Andean Naturals) and Nordic Industries, Inc.

Yuba City participated in the California Swan Festival, which had been held from 2013 to 2016, November 13–15, with the events centered in adjacent Marysville’s Caltrans Building.

Although KKCY 103.1, KUBA 1600 AM and 98.1 FM, KETQ-LP 93Q, KKCY-HD2 95.5, KCYC-LP, KOBO, and KRYC-LP are the only radio stations within the city, there is a wide variety of others broadcasting nearby.