AreaProfile

Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA

Metro Area Profile

4,675,704 residents. Jobs, income, development, climate and physical risk across the Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA metropolitan area.

44
Area Score
Bottom 3% of 361 published profiles

How we calculate this

How this area ranks
Opportunity261st of 361 published metros45
Growth248th of 440 published metros46
Housing affordability419th of 441 published metros57
Climate418th of 441 published metros53
Physical resilience440th of 441 published metros4
Access302nd of 441 published metros71
Economic stabilityTop 45% of 441 published metros63
The quick read

Employment conditions sit below most comparable published metro profiles: unemployment is 5.3% and the Opportunity signal places Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario in the bottom 28%.

Residential permitting has slowed: 13,521 units authorized over the past twelve months, 15% below the prior year.

Physical-risk exposure is above the national median, driven mainly by inland flooding, earthquake and wildfire.

At a glance

Population
4,675,704
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$89,662
Top 8% nationally
Density
171/sq mi
27277.4 sq mi of land
Median age
35.9
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Metro area
Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA
Nearest major airport
PSP
53 mi · Palm Springs Intl
Median home value
$536,300
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 5.3% is lower than 14% of the 361 measured US metros.

Employment fell 1.4% over the past year, to 2,075,553 employed residents.

Household income is higher than at least 92% of measured US metros.

MetricValueCompared with peersSource period
Median household income ±$787$89,662Top 8%2024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$242$36,450Top 45%2024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate11.9%Bottom 33%2024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute35.0 minTop 1%2024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher24.5%Bottom 48%2024 ACS 5-Year
Employment2,075,553Top 4%June 2026
Employment change (3 years)1.1%Top 40%June 2026
Employment change (year over year)-1.4%Bottom 30%June 2026
Labor force2,192,080Top 4%June 2026
Labor force participation61.7%Top 40%2024 ACS 5-Year
Mean annual wage$65,160Top 29%2025 OEWS
Median annual wage$48,400Top 45%2025 OEWS
Metro employment1,716,760Top 4%2025 OEWS
Unemployment change (year over year)-0.4%Bottom 20%June 2026
Unemployment rate5.3%Top 14%June 2026
Unemployment rate
2021/062022/032022/122023/092024/062025/032026/012026/068.63.8
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 5.3% in June 2026.
Largest occupations — Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA
OccupationPeople employedMedian annual wage
Home Health and Personal Care Aides102,760$34,320
Stockers and Order Fillers77,160$43,200
Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand69,820$46,060
Fast Food and Counter Workers51,310$42,280
Retail Salespersons41,270$36,720
Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers40,230$60,580

Occupational employment and wages are published for metropolitan areas rather than for individual cities or ZIP areas, so these describe the wider labor market this location sits in. 2025 OEWS, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Housing & affordability

How it’s calculated →

Median rent of $1,846 takes 25% of median household income, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened.

A median home costs 6.0 times median household income here, well above the historic benchmark, at a level conventionally described as seriously unaffordable.

Rent as a share of income
24.7%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
6.0×
median home value ÷ median income
Median gross rent
$1,846
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$536,300
2024 ACS 5-Year
MetricValueCompared with peersSource period
Home price to income5.98Top 7%2024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate65.8%Bottom 26%2024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±5091,613,300Top 1%2024 ACS 5-Year
Median gross rent ±$10$1,846Top 3%2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$2,387$536,300Top 5%2024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income24.7%Top 4%2024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate10.1%Bottom 40%2024 ACS 5-Year

Both affordability measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with, so the comparison is like for like. They describe housing cost against local earnings and are not a cost-of-living index — transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not included, and a place can look affordable here and still be expensive to live in for reasons this does not capture.

Growth & development

How it’s calculated →
Development Momentum
46/ 100
Ranks 248 of 440 published city profiles
Permitting is increasing, measured from 2024 to 2025.

An AreaProfile calculation combining permit volume per resident, its direction over one and three years, population change and employment growth. Permit volume alone is not the measure.

Population has grown 3% since 2020, reaching 4,744,214 in 2024.

At 2.9 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is below the median for measured US metros.

Units permitted
14K
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
2.9
Bottom 42% nationally
Year over year
−15%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
29.0%
units in 5+ unit buildings
Population, annual estimates
202020212022202320244744k4608k
Census Population Estimates Program, July 1 of each year. These annual estimates are designed for year-over-year comparison, unlike the ACS five-year figure shown as this profile's population.

Weather & climate

5 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 105°F and January a low of 36°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 3.8 inches.

20°40°60°80°100°120°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station BARSTOW DAGGETT AP, 42.9 miles from this location.
Precipitation
JFMAMJJASOND0.7"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
Annual precipitation3.8"1991-2020 Normals
Annual snowfall0.2"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low36°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high105°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months51991-2020 Normals
Seasonal temperature swing42°F1991-2020 Normals

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. They describe what a typical year looks like rather than what the weather is doing today.

Physical risk

4 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding, earthquake and wildfire.

WildfireHigh
Inland floodingHigh
EarthquakeHigh
LandslideModerate
AvalancheModerate

Low or minimal exposure: heat wave, lightning, hail, tornado, strong wind, winter weather, volcanic activity, drought, cold wave, hurricane.

Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). FEMA publishes at county level. This value is the population-weighted mean of all component counties; expected annual loss is their sum. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

Taxes

AreaProfile does not yet publish tax comparisons. No tax dataset has met the source admission test for coverage, methodology transparency and update cadence, and the product rule is to omit a dimension rather than estimate it. The Area Score is calculated without a tax component and the weighting is documented on the methodology page.

Nothing on AreaProfile is individualized tax advice.

Access

5 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest 53 miles away.

AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Palm Springs IntlPSP53 mi10,000 ft
Jacqueline Cochran RgnlTRM63 mi8,500 ft
San Bernardino IntlSBD70 mi10,000 ft

Airport identity, position and runway data come from the FAA. “Major airport” is an AreaProfile classification — a public-use civil airport with a paved runway of at least 8,000 feet — not an FAA hub designation. Distances are straight-line, not driving distance.

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Area Score
44
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Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource periodUpdated
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle28-day NASR cycle
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)Periodic dataset versions (v1.20.0 current)
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 NormalsEvery ten years (next release follows the 2001–2030 period)
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
June 2026Monthly
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
2025 OEWSAnnual (spring release)
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimateAnnual (vintage released each spring)
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026Monthly, roughly three weeks after the reference month
Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-YearAnnual (5-year estimates released each December)

Profile recalculated August 29, 2026. Recalculation is not the same as new source data — each figure above shows the period its source actually covers. Read the full methodology or browse every source.