Is Piñon Hills a good place to live?
The data are hard on it. Where it falls short is incomes: the median household income is $68K, and 19% of residents live below the poverty line. It also trails on health: CDC estimates put its residents' health behind 87% of the country. Hazard risk is weaker too: FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 98% of U.S. communities, with earthquakes at the top. A typical home there costs about $457K, 5.1 years of the Riverside metro’s $90K median household income. All told, that adds up to a D− overall and a rank of 839th of 841 in California. That leaves it behind almost every U.S. town. Walkability is weaker too (D). Most errands need a car: it is less walkable than 89% of U.S. towns.
Figures: incomes, Census ACS, 2020–24 · health, CDC PLACES · FEMA National Risk Index · home values, Zillow.
How Piñon Hills grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within California), ordered by how far Piñon Hills is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
97% of working residents leave Piñon Hills for work
Where Piñon Hills’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
The data
Ordered by what stands out in Piñon Hills.
Piñon Hills sends most of its workers to Los Angeles and beyond and has milder winter nights than most of the country, though not than most of California.
0% of Piñon Hills is conserved land
The biggest park or preserve is Angeles National Forest, at 29 acres. In Piñon Hills, the density of trails is 2.0 miles per square mile, above both the California town median (1.0) and the median of U.S. towns (0.4). Across 2 parks and preserves: 65 miles of trail.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Angeles National Forest | 0.2 mi | 29 |
| 2. Piñon Hills Park | — | 2 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Piñon Hills’ schools rank behind 58% of California districts
The public schools here belong to the Snowline Joint Unified school district. Its one school is below. 566 students attend Piñon Hills’s public school.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pinon Hills ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades K–5 | Grades K–5 | 566 | C− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within CA on state tests and graduation
Natural hazards: very high risk in Piñon Hills, mostly earthquakes
The national flood insurance program has paid 2 claims in Piñon Hills since 2025. Nearly half of the town’s expected losses from natural hazards come from earthquakes, followed by inland flooding at 36%.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
For health, Piñon Hills earns a D
Among adults in Piñon Hills, 31% say their health is fair or poor, against 22% in California’s towns and 19% across U.S. towns. The share of adults in Piñon Hills who smoke cigarettes: 18%.
| Piñon Hills | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 14% | 14% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 31% | 22% | 19% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 11% | 14% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 12% | 12% |
| What stands out | Piñon Hills | CA |
|---|---|---|
| More adults with COPD | 10.1% | 5.1% |
| More smokers | 18.3% | 10.9% |
| More adults with heart disease | 9.2% | 5.6% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
For cost of living, Piñon Hills earns a D
The typical rent in Piñon Hills is $1,672 a month. In Piñon Hills, four in five households live in a home they own. On the market in the town: a median 50 days to sell.
| Piñon Hills | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 80% | 64% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,672 a month | $1,898 a month | $1,185 a month |
Typical home value
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
In Piñon Hills, the average trip to work runs longer than in the typical California or U.S. town
Piñon Hills has 310 jobs for its 1,977 working residents: even if every job went to a resident, most would still commute out. The average commute takes 49.2 minutes, against 28.7 across California.
For working residents in Piñon Hills, the share who work locally is 2.6%. The top destinations are Los Angeles (6%), San Bernardino (5%) and Phelan (5%). Half of commuters travel less than 35 miles.
| Piñon Hills | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 49 minutes | 28 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 19% | 10% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $68,000 | $95,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 2.6% | 6.6% | 8% |
Where working residents work
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Four seasons and hot summers in Piñon Hills
January nights average 36.4°: milder than most of the country, but colder than 77% of California places with climate records; July afternoons average 91°.
For Piñon Hills, the typical July afternoon high is 91°F.
| Piñon Hills | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| July high | 91°F | 89°F | 85°F |
| January low | 36°F | 41°F | 22°F |
Typical low → high °F
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Everything we know about Piñon Hills
Mount San Antonio and 56 more within 40 miles
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Piñon Hills. Close and well known come first.
11 mi MountainMount San Antonio
36 mi MuseumThe Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens
40 mi MuseumRichard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum
40 mi Park & preserveVasquez Rocks
26 mi Stadium & arenaToyota Arena
36 mi TheatrePasadena PlayhousePhoto credits
Mount San Antonio: The original uploader was Tillman at English Wikipedia., CC BY-SA 2.0 · The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens: By Aaron Logan, CC BY 1.0 · Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum: The original uploader was Sorcha at English Wikipedia., CC BY-SA 2.5 · Vasquez Rocks: Thomas from USA, CC BY 2.0 · Toyota Arena: jondoeforty1, CC BY 2.0 · Pasadena Playhouse: Flickr user Canon in 2D, CC BY 2.0
Moving to Piñon Hills: who provides what
Piñon Hills 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.
Colleges nearby
None within 15 miles of Piñon Hills; the nearest are
About 4 of every 100 Piñon Hills residents are enrolled in college, against 8 across California.
About Piñon Hills
Census-designated place in California, United States
Piñon Hills (from piñón, Spanish for 'pine nut') is a census-designated place in San Bernardino County, California, near the Los Angeles County line. It is located along Pearblossom Highway, 28 miles east of Palmdale, and 15 miles west of the Cajon Pass where Pearblossom Highway meets Interstate 15. The town lies within 25 miles of Hesperia and Victorville. Piñon Hills is in a tri-community that consists of Piñon Hills, Phelan, and Wrightwood. The elevation is 4,173 feet (1,272 m). The population was 7,258 at the 2020 census.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Area
- 32 sq mi
- Elevation
- 4,173 ft
- ZIP code
- 92372
- Area code
- 760
Piñon Hills’s neighbors
One town shares a border with Piñon Hills.
| Town | CA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Piñon Hills | #839 | D− | D | — | C+ | D |
| Phelan | #710 | D− | C− | — | C+ | C |
Piñon Hills and Phelan report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Piñon Hills with a neighbor →
Questions about Piñon Hills
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Piñon Hills, CA a good place to live?
Piñon Hills grades D− overall, in the bottom 2% of U.S. towns and #839 of 841 in California. It grades D for health and C+ for schools. Hazard risk is its weak spot, with a D−.
Is Piñon Hills, CA expensive?
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.
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