Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
For a city of 221,223, Fontana does unevenly: it grades C−, ranked 468th of 841 in California. It is more walkable than 81% of U.S. towns. The trade-offs: FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 93% of U.S. communities, with earthquakes at the top, and homes are expensive, about $634K for a typical one and 7.1 times the Riverside metro’s $90K median household income. Fontana's civic life (library use, community groups, volunteering) trails 99% of U.S. towns. Fontana’s July high is 94°F, against 89°F in California’s towns and 85°F across U.S. towns. Fontana has 2 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Bono's Restaurant and Deli.
Where Fontana beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Travis BarkerWhere Fontana’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within California), ordered by how far Fontana is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 14,659 in 1960, 208,393 in 2020. The archive holds 24 old photos and papers going back to 1990 and 7 maps from 1896 on.
2 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Fontana. Close and well known come first.
Big draw33 mi Theme parkDisneyland17.3M visitors a year
Big draw36 mi Theme parkKnott's Berry Farm4.5M visitors a year
Big draw32 mi Stadium & arenaAngel Stadium of Anaheim
Big draw34 mi Theme parkDisney California Adventure10.1M visitors a year
Big draw39 mi MuseumOldest McDonald's restaurant
32 mi Stadium & arenaHonda CenterDisneyland: HarshLight from San Jose, CA, USA, CC BY 2.0 · Knott's Berry Farm: Phydend at English Wikipedia, Public domain · Angel Stadium of Anaheim: Staff Sgt. Chad McMeen, Public domain · Disney California Adventure: CrispyCream27, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Oldest McDonald's restaurant: Northwalker, CC0 · Honda Center: Arnold C (Buchanan-Hermit), Attribution
Who provides power, water and the rest in Fontana, and how to reach them.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
Ordered by what stands out in Fontana.
Fontana reports less crime than Ontario or any other graded neighbor, has milder winter nights than nearly all U.S. towns and owes part of its health edge to its incomes.
Since 1980, 7 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Fontana.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Its public schools are run by the Fontana Unified school district. Three of its 57 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wayne Ruble MiddleLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 1,394 | – |
| Summit HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 2,725 | A |
| Henry J. Kaiser HighTop results in townGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,660 | A+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within CA on state tests and graduation
Most working residents leave Fontana for work: only 9% work in town. Fontana’s average trip to work is 33 minutes. Jobs based in Fontana grew to 54,641 in 2023, 9,673 more than in 2013.
| Fontana | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 33 minutes | 28 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $103,000 | $95,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 9.4% | 6.6% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
37 miles of trail in 53 parks and preserves. The biggest place to walk is Martin Tudor Jurupa Hills Park, 650 acres with 4.4 miles of trail.
| Fontana | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.9 miles per square mile | 1.0 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 4.3% | 4.2% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Martin Tudor Jurupa Hills Park | 4.4 mi | 650 |
| 2. Southridge Village Open Space Reserve | 4.2 mi | 230 |
| 3. Fontana Park | 2.7 mi | 34 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
January nights average 42.9°, milder than in 96% of U.S. towns; July afternoons average 93.8°.
Fontana has warm winters and hot summers, with very little rain. The January low in Fontana is 43°F. Snow is almost unheard of.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
The typical Fontana home is worth about $634,000, up 0.6% in a year, 17% below the California typical home.
| Fontana | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,839 a month | $1,898 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 67% | 64% | 73% |
| Renters paying 30%+ of income on rent | 54% | 55% | 48% |
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Crime runs higher than in most U.S. towns, but its C+ tops all 3 graded towns on its borders; Ontario (C) comes closest. Reported crimes fell from 3,530 to 3,018 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
Within California, it does better than 69% of towns.
| Fontana | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 2.4 per 1,000 residents | 2.9 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 11.2 per 1,000 residents | 13.4 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Against the 8,153 U.S. towns with household incomes like Fontana’s, it is less healthy than 73%: its national edge comes with its incomes.
Fontana beats the California average on 4 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 12. 68% of Fontana adults had a checkup this year.
| Fontana | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 68% | 72% | 79% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 39% | 36% | 33% |
| No health insurance, 18–64 (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 9% | 8.1% |
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 25% | 16% | 14% |
| What stands out | Fontana | CA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 4.3% | 6.4% |
| Fewer adults with COPD | 4.2% | 5.1% |
| More uninsured adults | 16.3% | 10.6% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
23 within 15 miles of the center of Fontana
About 7 of every 100 Fontana residents are enrolled in college, about the same as California.
2 places in Fontana on the National Register of Historic Places.
64 notable people were born in Fontana.
City in California, United States
Fontana is a city in the Inland Empire region of San Bernardino County, California, United States. Founded by Azariel Blanchard Miller in 1913, it remained essentially rural until World War II, when entrepreneur Henry J. Kaiser built a large steel mill in the area. It is now a regional hub of the trucking industry, with the east–west Interstate 10 and State Route 210 crossing the city and Interstate 15 passing diagonally through its northwestern quadrant. The city is about 46 miles (74 km) east of Los Angeles. The United States Census Bureau reported that Fontana's 2020 population was 208,393, making it the second-most-populous city in San Bernardino County and the 20th largest in the state.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
5 towns share a border with Fontana.
| Town | CA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fontana | #468 | C− | D− | C+ | B− | B− |
| Bloomington | #628 | D | C− | — | C | C |
| Rancho Cucamonga | #147 | B | D− | — | A | A− |
| Rialto | #693 | D | D | D | C+ | C |
| Jurupa Valley | #653 | D | D | C | C+ | C |
| Ontario | #565 | D | D− | C | B− | B− |
Bloomington and Rancho Cucamonga report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Fontana with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Fontana grades C− overall, better than 23% of U.S. towns and #468 of 841 in California. It grades B− for health, C+ for safety and B− for schools. Hazard risk is its weak spot, with a D−.
Within California, it does better than 69% of towns.
Yes. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades D−.
64 notable people were born here, including Travis Barker and Bill Fagerbakke.
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