Fort IrwinCA
A town of 8,419, settled in 1940.
Is Fort Irwin a good place to live?
The typical home is worth about , years of the Riverside metro’s $90K median household income. Overall it grades C, ranked 363rd of 841 in California. Residents are healthier than 82% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates and it is more walkable than 93% of U.S. towns. Its weakest subject is incomes: the median household income is $76K, and 9% of residents live below the poverty line. Fort Irwin’s average trip to work is 9 minutes, below both California’s towns (28 minutes) and U.S. towns (25 minutes). Fort Irwin has 2 places on the National Register. Only 4 of the 847 California towns we compare have a lower share of households owning their home than Fort Irwin.
What makes Fort Irwin stand out
Where Fort Irwin beats most towns.
Jobs vs. working residents
Every workday, about 2,169 people come to Fort Irwin for work
Where Fort Irwin’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
How Fort Irwin grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within California), ordered by how far Fort Irwin is from typical.
Its grades run from A for walkability (better than 93% of comparable towns) to D− for cost of living (better than 2%), so the C overall blends very different results.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Moving to Fort Irwin: who provides what
Fort Irwin is unincorporated, so San Bernardino County and regional agencies provide most services.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
The data
Ordered by what stands out in Fort Irwin.
Fort Irwin draws workers from Barstow and beyond, has less cancer than most of California and has hotter summers than nearly all U.S. towns.
Compared with most of California and the rest of the country, the median age in Fort Irwin is lower
Only 1.1% of households own their home, against 55.9% across California.
The median age in Fort Irwin is 23.6 years. Adults 18 to 34 are 55% of residents (24% statewide); adults 35 to 64 are 15% of residents (39% statewide). 31% of residents are under 18 in Fort Irwin.
| Fort Irwin | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 23.6 years | 39.1 years | 40.5 years |
| Under 18 | 31% | 22% | 22% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 35% | 29% | 29% |
Ages · share of residents
Education · adults 25 and older
Women and men · all residents
43% women, 57% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±7 points. Across California, 50.1% of residents are women. Among residents 18 to 24, 76% are men (CA 51%). Median age: women 23.8, men 23.6.
| Fort Irwin | CA | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 21.6% | 11.4% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 8.9% | 10.5% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 24.3% | 9.1% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 30.4% | 14.8% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 9.5% | 13.9% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 5.3% | 12.5% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 0% | 12.1% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 0% | 9.2% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 0% | 6.5% | 7% |
| No diploma | 0.7% | 15.3% | 10.4% |
| High school | 18.6% | 20.5% | 26% |
| Some college | 33.6% | 19.3% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 12.3% | 7.9% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 23% | 22.7% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 11.7% | 14.4% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
Public schools in Fort Irwin beat 63% of California districts
Its public schools are run by the Silver Valley Unified school district. One of its 3 schools is below, with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Congressman Jerry Lewis ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades K–2 | Grades K–2 | 510 | – |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within CA on state tests and graduation
0% of Fort Irwin is conserved land
21 miles of trail in 6 parks and preserves. Fort Irwin’s trail density is 3.1 miles per square mile.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Blue Track | 0.4 mi | 12 |
| 2. Constitution Park | 0.3 mi | 2 |
| 3. Army Field | 0.1 mi | 7 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
About one in eight working residents works right in Fort Irwin
2,297 jobs are based in Fort Irwin, 2.3 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in. The average commute takes 9.4 minutes, against 28.7 across California.
Most working residents leave Fort Irwin for work: only 13% work in town. Jobs based in Fort Irwin grew to 2,297 in 2023, 478 more than in 2013. 7% of Fort Irwin workers work from home.
| Fort Irwin | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work from home | 7% | 14% | 11% |
| Working residents who work in town | 13% | 6.6% | 8% |
| Median household income | $76,000 | $95,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 8.7% | 10% | 9.6% |
Where working residents work
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Fort Irwin stands out in California and nationally, with fewer of its adults who have diabetes
Its widest gap with California is cancer: 1.7% of its 5,577 adults have had cancer, against 6.4% statewide.
Only 10 of the 847 California towns we compare have a lower share of adults who have diabetes than Fort Irwin. Fort Irwin beats the California average on 11 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 11. Only 2 of the 847 California towns we compare have a lower share of adults who had a checkup this year than Fort Irwin.
| Fort Irwin | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 3.5% | 12% | 12% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 23% | 17% | 17% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 23% | 16% | 16% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 31% | 35% |
| What stands out | Fort Irwin | CA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 1.7% | 6.4% |
| Fewer adults with heart disease | 1.5% | 5.6% |
| More binge drinkers | 23.4% | 15.3% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
High risk in Fort Irwin, with inland flooding at the top
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 69% of U.S. communities.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Fort Irwin has four seasons and hot summers
July afternoons average 102.6°, hotter than in 100% of U.S. towns; January nights average 37.3°.
Fort Irwin has mild winters and scorching summers, with very little rain.
| Fort Irwin | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| July high | 103°F | 89°F | 85°F |
| January low | 37°F | 41°F | 22°F |
Typical low → high °F
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Everything we know about Fort Irwin
Colleges nearby
None within 15 miles of Fort Irwin; the nearest are
About 10 of every 100 Fort Irwin residents are enrolled in college, against 8 across California.
21 miles of trails in Fort Irwin
0% of the town is conserved land, across 6 parks and preserves.
About Fort Irwin
Census-designated place in California, United States
Fort Irwin National Training Center (Fort Irwin NTC) is a major training area for the United States military in the Mojave Desert in northern San Bernardino County, California. Fort Irwin is at an average elevation of 2,454 feet (748 m). It is located 37 miles (60 km) northeast of Barstow, in the Calico Mountains. The National Training Center is part of the US Army Combined Arms Command (CAC). The opposing force at the National Training Center is the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment, the Blackhorse Cavalry, who are stationed at the base to provide an opposing force to units on a training rotation at Fort Irwin. In September 2017, a state-of-the-art hospital was opened that provides healthcare …
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Established
- 1940
- Area
- 7.0 sq mi
- Elevation
- 2,454 ft
Questions about Fort Irwin
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Fort Irwin, CA a good place to live?
Fort Irwin grades C overall, better than 32% of U.S. towns and #363 of 841 in California. It grades A− for health and B for schools. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a D−.