Mountain CenterCA
A town of 45.
Is Mountain Center a good place to live?
62% of the land in Mountain Center is conserved, against 4.3% in California’s towns and 4.3% across U.S. towns. San Bernardino National Forest, at 646 acres with 2.5 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve. Mountain Center has fewer than 1,000 residents, too few for fair grades; the figures below are still real.
45 people, and everyone knows the way
In a town this size, neighbors are the best guide. Ask them anything.
Moving to Mountain Center: who provides what
Mountain Center 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.
The data
Ordered by what stands out in Mountain Center.
In Mountain Center, nearly a third of the land is conserved
Mountain Center’s density of trails stands at 3.1 miles per square mile, where California’s towns sit at 1.0 and U.S. towns at 0.4. Trails total 5.9 miles in 1 park or preserve.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. San Bernardino National Forest | 2.5 mi | 646 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
The FEMA risk score in Mountain Center is higher than in the typical California or U.S. town
Of the losses FEMA expects in Mountain Center, 77% come from wildfires and 12% from inland flooding. One declared disaster, in 2004, has brought federal aid to Mountain Center households. Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 100% of U.S. communities.
FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
A home in Mountain Center is worth about $579K, on Zillow’s estimate
In the year to September 2026, typical home values climbed 1%.
Typical home value
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Expect four seasons and pleasant summers in Mountain Center
Expect July afternoons of 85° and January nights of 33°, with about 31 inches of snow a winter.
Typical low → high °F
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Mountain Center stands out in California and nationally, with more of its adults who have high blood pressure
For adults in Mountain Center, the share who worry about having enough food is 10%. The town beats the California average on 13 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 7. Two figures for adults in the town: 30% feel lonely, 14% binge drink.
| Mountain Center | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 41% | 31% | 35% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 36% | 33% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 16% | 16% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 17% | 17% |
| What stands out | Mountain Center | CA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer uninsured adults | 4.7% | 10.6% |
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 10% | 17.9% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 11.7% | 6.4% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Joshua Tree National Park and 28 more within 40 miles
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Mountain Center. Close and well known come first.
Big draw24 mi National ParkJoshua Tree National Park2.9M visitors a year
8 mi MountainSan Jacinto Peak
23 mi Stadium & arenaAcrisure Arena
28 mi MountainSan Gorgonio Mountain18 mi LandmarkForest Lawn Cemetery
36 mi State parkAnza-Borrego Desert State ParkPhoto credits
Joshua Tree National Park: Sergiy Galyonkin, CC BY-SA 4.0 · San Jacinto Peak: Wattewyl, CC BY 3.0 · Acrisure Arena: TheAHL, CC BY 2.0 · San Gorgonio Mountain: Doc Searls, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Anza-Borrego Desert State Park: No machine-readable author provided. Miskatonic assumed (based on copyright clai, CC BY 2.5
Everything we know about Mountain Center
Colleges nearby
None within 15 miles of Mountain Center; the nearest are
About 0 of every 100 Mountain Center residents are enrolled in college, against 8 across California.
About Mountain Center
Place in California, United States
Mountain Center is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in the San Jacinto Mountains, within western central Riverside County, California. As of the 2020 census, Mountain Center had a population of 66.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Area
- 1.9 sq mi
- Elevation
- 4,518 ft
- ZIP code
- 92561
Questions about Mountain Center
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Mountain Center, CA a good place to live?
Mountain Center has fewer than 1,000 residents, too few for fair grades; the figures below are still real.