Photo: Jordan W. · CC BY-SA 3.0Households in Fontana have higher incomes than those in 79% of U.S. towns
Below the poverty line: 9.9% of residents, against 12.0% across California. Fontana grades B+ for jobs and income and A− for walkability. For a town this walkable, transit is thin: about 3.0 trips an hour at the evening peak near the typical resident, next to 4.3 in Riverside.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What drives the Jobs & income grade in Fontana
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Fontana is better than 66% of U.S. towns, #346 of 847 in California. Job access by car holds Fontana’s grade up (ahead of 91% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down (6.5%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on household income.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Fontana could be anywhere from B to B+.
How many people are in Fontana by day
On a workday 78,576 residents head out to work, 8,133 work right here, and 46,508 people come in from elsewhere.
About 189,000 people are in Fontana on a workday afternoon, 14% fewer than live here.
0.63 jobs for every working resident, so most people commute out.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
8% of working residents work in Ontario
Where Fontana clocks in
8% of workers
7% of workers
7% of workersLines run between town centers. The top 10 towns each way; “Everywhere else” is the rest, including other states.
A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.
What Fontana’s employers do
54,641 jobs are based in Fontana.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Fontana, 2013 → 2023: 44,968 → 54,641. Big swings can come from how a large employer reports its locations, not only from real openings or closings.
Primary jobs covered by unemployment insurance (not the self-employed). Pay is monthly earnings. LEHD 2023.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs Fontana’s own residents hold wherever they work.
The daily trip from Fontana: about 33 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 10.7 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Fontana workers work from home, vs 17% across California. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 86,595 commuters (the 13% who work from home are left out). Across California: 79% drive alone, 3% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
Short hops and long hauls from Fontana
Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2023.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
Walkable streets, thin transit: Fontana
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Fontana is more walkable than 81% of U.S. towns, #399 of 847 in California. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 2.9% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, below the 7.1% across California.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 99,504 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 83% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 19% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 3.0 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 76% of the 9,825 U.S. towns with transit data.
Transit at the evening rush trips an hour stopping within ¼ mile of the typical resident, EPA 2020
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 3.2% of Fontana households have no vehicle (California 7.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 2% of Fontana’s commuters take a bus or train.
These are town averages; neighborhoods differ.
Fontana next to U.S. towns of 155,000 to 299,000: 40th of 113 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | North Hempstead NY | 238,982 | $158K | 4.5% | 4.1% | 20% | A |
| 2 | Frisco TX | 236,955 | $150K | 3.6% | 4.6% | 14% | A |
| 3 | Huntington NY | 205,891 | $168K | 5.0% | 4.3% | 23% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 8 | Fremont CA | 226,442 | $182K | 5.2% | 4.7% | 17% | A |
| 9 | Sunnyvale CA | 156,577 | $186K | 5.8% | 4.5% | 14% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 18 | Roseville CA | 167,302 | $119K | 5.9% | 5.2% | 22% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 38 | Aurora IL | 181,505 | $94K | 9.5% | 5.8% | 16% | B+ |
| 39 | Murfreesboro TN | 171,178 | $80K | 8.8% | 4.3% | 28% | B+ |
| 40 | Fontana CA | 221,223 | $103K | 9.9% | 6.5% | 9% | B+ |
| 41 | Chula Vista CA | 275,533 | $108K | 8.7% | 8.0% | 17% | B+ |
| 42 | Grand Prairie TX | 209,434 | $82K | 12.1% | 5.2% | 12% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 113 | Macon-Bibb County GA | 157,556 | $51K | 24.7% | 8.1% | 53% | D |
Census ACS 2020–24 (income, poverty, unemployment), Census LEHD (work in town), TownRatings Jobs & income grades. Each town links to its Work & commute page.
Ranked on the Jobs & income grade: the towns either side of Fontana, the top three, the last and three more from California.
Next door is work for 21% of Fontana
The biggest share goes to Ontario (8%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Fontana workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fontana | – | B+ | A− | 33 min | $102,821 |
| Bloomington | under 2% | B− | B+ | 32 min | $81,640 |
| Rancho Cucamonga | 7% | B+ | B+ | 32 min | $111,895 |
| Rialto | 4% | B− | A− | 32 min | $88,857 |
| Jurupa Valley | 2% | B+ | B+ | 32 min | $97,550 |
| Ontario | 8% | B | A− | 32 min | $88,941 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Fontana’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Two sources, two years. Trips, distances and jobs based here: Census LEHD 2023, primary jobs, where the employer reports them. Income, poverty, unemployment, commute time and how people travel: Census ACS 2020–24 averages.
- Straight lines, older transit. Miles are as the crow flies. EPA’s walkability and transit files use 2017–20 inputs.
Jobs and commuting in Fontana: questions
What is the median household income in Fontana?
$102,821 (±$3,349) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $99,122 across California and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Fontana?
9.9%, against 12.0% across California and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Fontana?
33 minutes each way on average, against 29 across California and 26 nationally. 13% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Fontana work?
9% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Ontario (8%, 10 mi), Rancho Cucamonga (7%, 6 mi), San Bernardino (7%, 10 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Fontana walkable?
Fontana is more walkable than 81% of U.S. towns (Walkability A−): an EPA walkability index of 12.0 out of 20, and 3% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Fontana without a car?
2% of commuters take transit and 3% of households have no car. 19% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Fontana, from the people who make the trip.
More of Fontana
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2023, primary jobs. Commute time, working from home and working out of state: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates. Distances are straight lines between home and work; real drives run longer. Walkability index, job access and transit service: U.S. EPA Smart Location Database. The two grades are our own summaries of these figures, not official ratings.