Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Home to 19,286 people, this town lies in California.
Where it falls short is hazard risk (D−) — FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 98% of U.S. communities, with wildfire at the top. With a D overall, Mead Valley sits 650th of 841 in California. Set against the rest, it does better than 8% of U.S. towns. Its strongest is walkability: it is more walkable than 58% of U.S. towns. At about $446K, a typical home costs 5 years of the Riverside metro’s $90K median household income. The town’s trail network density is 1.5 miles per square mile, above both the California town median (1.0) and the median of U.S. towns (0.4). The biggest park or preserve is Motte Rimrock Reserve, at 310 acres. The rest of its grades are middling: C+ for schools and B− for incomes.
Figures: FEMA National Risk Index · home values, Zillow · incomes, Census ACS, 2020–24 · schools, state test and graduation results · OpenStreetMap.
Where Mead Valley’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 Mead Valley is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
The archive holds 1 old photo or paper going back to 2025 and 5 maps from 1901 on.
Explore the history →Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Mead Valley. Close and well known come first.
Big draw36 mi Theme parkDisneyland17.3M visitors a year
Big draw34 mi Stadium & arenaAngel Stadium of Anaheim
Big draw36 mi Theme parkDisney California Adventure10.1M visitors a year
34 mi Stadium & arenaHonda Center
31 mi MuseumRichard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum
3 mi LandmarkRiverside National CemeteryDisneyland: HarshLight from San Jose, CA, USA, CC BY 2.0 · Angel Stadium of Anaheim: Staff Sgt. Chad McMeen, Public domain · Disney California Adventure: CrispyCream27, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Honda Center: Arnold C (Buchanan-Hermit), Attribution · Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum: The original uploader was Sorcha at English Wikipedia., CC BY-SA 2.5 · Riverside National Cemetery: Sigris Lopez, CC BY-SA 4.0
Mead Valley is unincorporated, so Riverside 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.
Ordered by what stands out in Mead Valley.
Mead Valley has more 90° days than nearly all U.S. towns, has property taxes about half the California norm and has more than doubled its jobs in ten years.
FEMA puts just over half of Mead Valley’s expected hazard losses down to wildfires, and 25% to earthquakes. Since 1980, 7 flood insurance claims have been paid out in the town.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Public schools: the Val Verde Unified school district. The largest public high school is Citrus Hill High, with 1,630 students. Two of its 5 schools are below, each with the reason it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tomas Rivera MiddleLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 1,014 | – |
| Citrus Hill HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,630 | – |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within CA on state tests and graduation
Across 2 parks and preserves: 29 miles of trail. Parks and preserves in Mead Valley: 2, covering 317 acres.
| Mead Valley | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 1.5 miles per square mile | 1.0 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 2.9% | 4.3% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Motte Rimrock Reserve | — | 310 |
| 2. Mead Valley Community Center | — | 7 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
In Mead Valley, 15% of adults binge drink. CDC measures, 32 in all: Mead Valley beats California on 1 and trails on 19. Two figures for adults here: 68% had a checkup this year, 31% say their health is fair or poor.
| Mead Valley | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| No health insurance, 18–64 (CDC PLACES) | 21% | 9% | 8.1% |
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 16% | 14% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 68% | 72% | 79% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 31% | 22% | 19% |
| What stands out | Mead Valley | CA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 4.6% | 6.4% |
| More uninsured adults | 20.6% | 10.6% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Jobs based here grew from 1,817 in 2013 to 4,017.
Most working residents leave Mead Valley for work: only 3% work in town. For Mead Valley, the average trip to work is 32 minutes. Employers in Mead Valley added 2,200 jobs between 2013 and 2023, to 4,017. The top destinations are Riverside (12%), Moreno Valley (6%) and Perris (6%).
| Mead Valley | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 32 minutes | 28 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Work from home | 9% | 14% | 11% |
| Working residents who work in town | 3.4% | 6.6% | 8% |
| Median household income | $87,000 | $95,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
The Riverside Fire Stn 3 weather station, 10 miles away, records that about 110 days a year reach 90°, more than in 95% of U.S. towns. January nights average 42.6°, milder than in 96% of U.S. towns; July afternoons average 93.3°.
For Mead Valley, the January low is 43°F. Snow is almost unheard of.
| Mead Valley | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| July high | 93°F | 89°F | 85°F |
| January low | 43°F | 40°F | 22°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
The median property tax bill is $2,504, against $5,124 across California, another input to its cost-of-living grade.
Mead Valley’s going rate for rent comes in at $1,926 a month. 72% of households own their home in the town.
| Mead Valley | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,926 a month | $1,895 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 72% | 64% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
7 within 15 miles of the center of Mead Valley
About 9 of every 100 Mead Valley residents are enrolled in college, about the same as California.
Census-designated place in California, United States
Mead Valley is a census-designated place in the Inland Empire region of Riverside County, California. Mead Valley sits at an elevation of 1,663 feet (507 m). The 2020 United States census reported Mead Valley's population was 19,819. Mead Valley is located in a valley of the same name in the northeastern Temescal Mountains, south of the city of Riverside and west of the city of Perris. It is drained by the north fork of Cajalco Creek.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
5 towns share a border with Mead Valley.
| Town | CA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mead Valley | #650 | D | D | — | C+ | C− |
| Perris | #709 | D− | D | C− | C+ | C− |
| Good Hope | #815 | D− | C | — | C | D |
| March ARB | — | — | D− | — | C+ | D |
| Lake Mathews | #471 | C− | D− | — | B+ | B |
| Woodcrest | #322 | C+ | D | — | B | B |
March ARB has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Mead Valley, Good Hope, March ARB, Lake Mathews and Woodcrest report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Mead Valley with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Mead Valley grades D overall, better than 8% of U.S. towns and #650 of 841 in California. It grades C− for health and C+ for schools. Hazard risk is its weak spot, with a D−.
Yes. The typical home is worth about $446,000, 41% below the California typical home. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades D.
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