Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A city of 187,013, settled in 1883. Home to West Coast University-Ontario.
Trash day: look up yoursOntario grades D overall, 565th among California's 841 graded towns. In its favor, it is easier to get around on foot or by transit than 78% of U.S. towns. Ontario's civic life (library use, community groups, volunteering) trails 99% of U.S. towns. Ontario is home to West Coast University-Ontario. FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 98% of U.S. communities, with inland flooding at the top.
Where Ontario beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
| College | Students |
|---|---|
| West Coast University-Ontario | 2,631 |
| DeVry University-California | 565 |
| Platt College-Ontario | 467 |
5 colleges in town.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within California), ordered by how far Ontario is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 683 in 1890, 175,265 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1890 and 8 maps from 1897 on.
5 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Ontario. Close and well known come first.
Big draw24 mi Theme parkDisneyland17.3M visitors a year
Big draw39 mi MuseumLucas Museum of Narrative Art
Big draw26 mi Theme parkKnott's Berry Farm4.5M visitors a year
Big draw39 mi Stadium & arenaLos Angeles Memorial Coliseum
Big draw38 mi Stadium & arenaCrypto.com Arena
Big draw36 mi Stadium & arenaDodger StadiumDisneyland: HarshLight from San Jose, CA, USA, CC BY 2.0 · Lucas Museum of Narrative Art: Kriddl, CC0 · Knott's Berry Farm: Phydend at English Wikipedia, Public domain · Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum: CanonStarGal, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Crypto.com Arena: Troutfarm27, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Dodger Stadium: Frederick Dennstedt from los angeles, usa, CC BY-SA 2.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Ontario, and how to reach them.
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 Ontario.
Ontario draws workers from Fontana and beyond, has milder winter nights than nearly all U.S. towns and has seen reported crime fall by a third or more.
125,911 jobs are based in Ontario, 1.7 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in. Jobs based here grew from 92,370 in 2013 to 125,911.
Most working residents leave Ontario for work: only 15% work in town. At 32 minutes, Ontario’s average trip to work is above both California’s towns (28 minutes) and U.S. towns (25 minutes). Since 2013, Ontario has added 33,541 jobs, to 125,911 in 2023.
| Ontario | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 32 minutes | 28 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Working residents who work in town | 15% | 6.6% | 8% |
| Work from home | 9.1% | 14% | 11% |
| Below the poverty line | 12% | 10% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Three of its 47 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Park View ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades K–6 | Grades K–6 | 844 | – |
| Chaffey HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 3,127 | B+ |
| Colony HighTop results in townGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 2,109 | A− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within CA on state tests and graduation
Since 1980, 10 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Ontario.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Reported crimes fell from 4,778 to 3,443 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
At 15.9 per 1,000 residents, Ontario’s property crime rate is near the California town median (13.3) and above the median of U.S. towns (9.9). Within California, it does better than 48% of towns.
| Ontario | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 15.9 per 1,000 residents | 13.3 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 2.4 per 1,000 residents | 2.9 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
January nights average 42.9°, milder than in 96% of U.S. towns; July afternoons average 92.4°.
Ontario has warm winters and hot summers, with very little rain. Ontario’s July high is 92°F. Snow is almost unheard of.
| Ontario | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| July high | 92°F | 89°F | 85°F |
| January low | 43°F | 40°F | 22°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
The typical Ontario home is worth about $662,000, about the same as a year ago, 13% below the California typical home. The median rent in Ontario is $2,030 a month.
| Ontario | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $2,030 a month | $1,895 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Renters paying 30%+ of income on rent | 63% | 55% | 48% |
| Households that own their home | 58% | 64% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
15 miles of trail in 34 parks and preserves. The biggest park or preserve is Ontario Grand Park, at 137 acres.
| Ontario | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.3 miles per square mile | 1.0 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 1% | 4.3% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Cucamonga-Guasti Regional Park | 0.7 mi | 66 |
| 2. Ontario Soccer Park | 0.6 mi | 23 |
| 3. De Anza Park | 0.6 mi | 19 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Ontario beats the California average on 1 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 12. 68% of adults had a checkup this year in Ontario.
| Ontario | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 68% | 72% | 79% |
| No health insurance, 18–64 (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 9% | 8.1% |
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 26% | 16% | 14% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 39% | 36% | 33% |
| What stands out | Ontario | CA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 4.6% | 6.4% |
| More uninsured adults | 17% | 10.6% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
25 within 15 miles of the center of Ontario
About 8 of every 100 Ontario residents are enrolled in college, about the same as California.
Where Ontario’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
5 places in Ontario on the National Register of Historic Places.
29 notable people were born in Ontario.
City in California, United States
Ontario is a city in southwestern San Bernardino County, California, United States, 35 miles (56 km) east of downtown Los Angeles and 23 miles (37 km) west of downtown San Bernardino, the county seat. Located in the western part of the Inland Empire metropolitan area, it lies just east of Los Angeles County and is part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 175,265. The city is home to Ontario International Airport, which is the 8th-busiest airport in the United States by cargo carried, as of 2026. Ontario handles the mass of freight traffic between the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach and the rest of the country. It takes its name from …
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
5 towns share a border with Ontario.
All 5 graded towns on its borders grade higher than its D; Fontana (C−) is closest.
| Town | CA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ontario | #565 | D | D− | C | B− | B− |
| Chino | #424 | C | D− | C− | A− | B |
| Eastvale | #183 | B− | D− | B− | B+ | A |
| Rancho Cucamonga | #147 | B | D− | — | A | A− |
| Upland | #327 | C+ | D− | C | B+ | A− |
| Fontana | #468 | C− | D− | C+ | B− | B− |
Rancho Cucamonga reports no FBI crime data of its own. Compare Ontario with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Ontario grades D overall, better than 14% of U.S. towns and #565 of 841 in California. It grades B− for health, C for safety and B− for schools. Hazard risk is its weak spot, with a D−.
Within California, it does better than 48% of towns.
Yes. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades D−.
29 notable people were born here, including Landon Donovan and Jeff Ayres.
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