Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 9,514, settled in 1891.
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 97% of U.S. communities, with earthquakes at the top. Overall it grades C+, 287th among California's 841 graded towns. Its weakest subject is cost of living: the typical home is worth about $515K, 5.7 years of the Riverside metro’s $90K median household income. Mentone’s July high is 96°F, above both California’s towns (89°F) and U.S. towns (85°F). Mill Creek Zanja is on the National Register of Historic Places. Mentone is easier to get around on foot or by transit than 69% of U.S. towns.
Where Mentone’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 Mentone is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 5,675 in 1990, 9,557 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 2008 and 7 maps from 1899 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Mentone. Close and well known come first.
Big draw38 mi National ParkJoshua Tree National Park2.9M visitors a year
17 mi MountainSan Gorgonio Mountain
34 mi MountainMount San Antonio
15 mi LakeBig Bear Lake
26 mi Stadium & arenaToyota Arena
30 mi MountainSan Jacinto PeakJoshua Tree National Park: Sergiy Galyonkin, CC BY-SA 4.0 · San Gorgonio Mountain: Doc Searls, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Mount San Antonio: The original uploader was Tillman at English Wikipedia., CC BY-SA 2.0 · Big Bear Lake: H.G. Judd, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Toyota Arena: jondoeforty1, CC BY 2.0 · San Jacinto Peak: Wattewyl, CC BY 3.0
Mentone 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.
Ordered by what stands out in Mentone.
Mentone has a longer frost-free season than nearly all U.S. towns, but it has many renters stretched by housing costs.
Since 1994, 2 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Mentone.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Its public schools are run by the Redlands Unified school district. Two of its 3 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Redlands East Valley High, with 1,845 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mentone ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades K–5 | Grades K–5 | 378 | – |
| Redlands East Valley HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,845 | – |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within CA on state tests and graduation
Most working residents leave Mentone for work: only 3% work in town. Jobs based in Mentone grew to 1,367 in 2023, 94 more than in 2013. Mentone’s median household income is $75,000.
| Mentone | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $75,000 | $95,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 13% | 10% | 9.6% |
| Working residents who work in town | 3.3% | 6.6% | 8% |
| Work from home | 10% | 14% | 11% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
70.2% of renter households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, against 55.3% across California.
The median rent in Mentone is $1,472 a month. The typical Mentone home is worth about $515,000, about the same as a year ago, 32% below the California typical home.
| Mentone | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,472 a month | $1,898 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 68% | 64% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
The Redlands weather station, 5 miles away, records that the frost-free season runs about 329 days, longer than in 96% of U.S. towns. The Redlands weather station, 5 miles away, records that about 104 days a year reach 90°, more than in 96% of U.S. towns.
Mentone has warm winters and hot summers, with very little rain. July afternoons reach 96°, January nights drop to 41° and snow is almost unheard of.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
| Mentone | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 0.1% | 4.3% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.5 miles per square mile | 1.0 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Sandstone Park | — | 4 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Mentone beats the California average on 0 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 2. 70% of Mentone adults had a checkup this year.
| Mentone | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 70% | 72% | 79% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 37% | 36% | 33% |
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 16% | 14% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 17% | 17% |
| What stands out | Mentone | CA |
|---|---|---|
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 14.6% | 10.6% |
| More adults with obesity | 32.2% | 27.8% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
9 within 15 miles of the center of Mentone
About 4 of every 100 Mentone residents are enrolled in college, against 8 across California.
Census-designated place in California, United States
Mentone is a census-designated place in the Inland Empire region of San Bernardino County, California, United States. The population was 9,557 at the 2020 census, up from 8,720 at the 2010 census. According to the United States Census Bureau, it has a total area of 6.1 square miles (16 km2); 6.1 square miles (16 km2) of it is land and 0.19% is water. Lugonia Avenue as California State Route 38 serves as its main street, being called Mentone Boulevard upon entering Mentone from Redlands on the west side, then changes to Mill Creek Road on the east end. Route 38 through Mentone serves as one of three gateways to the San Bernardino Mountains.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
2 towns share a border with Mentone.
Mentone and Yucaipa report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Mentone with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Mentone grades C+ overall, better than 39% of U.S. towns and #287 of 841 in California. It grades B for health and B+ for schools. Hazard risk is its weak spot, with a D−.
Yes. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C−.
