Fort IrwinCA
This town of 8,419 people was settled in 1940.
Is Fort Irwin a good place to live?
Fort Irwin’s grades pull in different directions. Cost of living is its weak spot (D−): the typical home is worth about , years of the Riverside metro’s $90K median household income. It lags on incomes as well: the median household income is $76K, and nearly one in ten residents live below the poverty line. Where it does best is walkability — it is easier to get around on foot or by transit than 93% of U.S. towns. Health is a strength too: CDC estimates put its residents' health ahead of 82% of the country. The overall grade comes out at C, better than 32% of U.S. towns. That places it 363rd of 841 in California. This California town has 2 places on the National Register.
Figures: health, CDC PLACES · home values, Zillow · incomes, Census ACS, 2020–24 · National Register of Historic Places.
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.
In Fort Irwin, 35% of adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more, against 29% in California’s towns and 29% across U.S. towns. 31% of Fort Irwin residents are under 18. Adults 18 to 34 are 55% of residents (24% statewide); adults 35 to 64 are 15% of residents (39% statewide).
| 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
One of its 3 schools is below, with the reason it’s listed. The Silver Valley Unified school district runs its public schools. Also worth knowing: 3 public schools serve Fort Irwin, with 1,230 students in all.
| 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
Fort Irwin’s concentration of trails stands at 3.1 miles per square mile, above both the California town median (1.0) and the median of U.S. towns (0.4). There are 21 miles of trail across 6 parks and preserves.
| 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.
The top destinations are Los Angeles (7%), San Diego (5%) and Victorville (3%). Only 13% of working residents stay in Fort Irwin for work; the rest commute out. Of the 846 California towns we compare, none has a lower mean commuting time than Fort Irwin. Jobs in Fort Irwin grew by 478 from 2013 to 2023, reaching 2,297.
| Fort Irwin | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 9 minutes | 28 minutes | 25 minutes |
| 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 |
Where working residents work
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
A smaller share of adults in Fort Irwin have high blood pressure than in the typical California or U.S. town
Its widest gap with California is cancer: 1.7% of its 5,577 adults have had cancer, against 6.4% statewide.
The share of adults in Fort Irwin who report frequent physical distress: 9.2%. Only 10 of the 847 California towns we compare have a lower share of adults who have diabetes than Fort Irwin. Among adults locally, 23% report frequent mental distress and 23% binge drink. Of 32 CDC measures, Fort Irwin beats the California average on 11 and trails it on 11.
| 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
On expected storm and flood damage, Fort Irwin sits above 69% of U.S. communities. Of the losses FEMA expects here, 73% come from inland flooding and 20% from earthquakes. One declared disaster, in 2020, has brought federal aid to Fort Irwin households.
FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Fort Irwin: 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’s January low comes in at 37°F.
| 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−.