Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A city of 147,807, settled in 1875. Home to 61 notable people.
Pomona grades D overall, ranked 671st of 841 in California, mostly because of safety. Its crime rate is higher than 92% of U.S. towns, with 950 violent crimes reported to the FBI in 2025. What it does well: it is easier to get around on foot or by transit than 88% of U.S. towns. Pomona’s violent crime rate is 6.5 per 1,000 residents, above both the California town median (2.9) and the median of U.S. towns (1.6). Pomona's civic life (library use, community groups, volunteering) trails 99% of U.S. towns. Pomona has 12 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Phillips Mansion and La Casa Alvarado.
Where Pomona beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Jessica Alba
Census counts: 3,634 in 1890, 151,713 in 2020. The archive holds 17 old photos and papers going back to 1913 and 5 maps from 1928 on.
12 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within California), ordered by how far Pomona is from typical.
Its grades run from A for walkability (better than 88% of comparable towns) to D− for hazard risk (better than 3%), so the D overall blends very different results.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Pomona. Close and well known come first.
Big draw20 mi Theme parkDisneyland17.3M visitors a year
Big draw34 mi Stadium & arenaSoFi Stadium
Big draw34 mi LandmarkHollywood Walk of Fame10.0M visitors a year
Big draw31 mi MuseumLucas Museum of Narrative Art
Big draw20 mi Theme parkKnott's Berry Farm4.5M visitors a year
Big draw30 mi Stadium & arenaLos Angeles Memorial ColiseumDisneyland: HarshLight from San Jose, CA, USA, CC BY 2.0 · SoFi Stadium: Thank You (21 Millions+) views, CC BY 2.0 · Hollywood Walk of Fame: BenSherman, Public domain · 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
Who provides power, water and the rest in Pomona, 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 Pomona.
Pomona has milder winter nights than nearly all U.S. towns, but it reports more crime than Claremont and its other graded neighbors and scores below San Dimas and its other neighbors on health.
Each of the 5 graded towns on its borders reports less crime per resident, from Claremont (C−) to Walnut (B−). Reported crimes fell from 5,203 to 4,274 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
Pomona’s property crime rate is 22.6 per 1,000 residents. Pomona reports more crime per resident than most U.S. towns we grade: about 92% report less.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Each of its 6 graded neighbors has a higher School Grade than its C+, San Dimas highest at A.
Its public schools are run by the Pomona Unified school district. Three of its 38 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vejar ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades K–8 | Grades K–8 | 741 | – |
| Garey HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,567 | – |
| International Polytechnic HighTop results in townGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 458 | A |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within CA on state tests and graduation
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 96% of U.S. communities. Since 1978, 5 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Pomona.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
January nights average 43.6°, milder than in 96% of U.S. towns; July afternoons average 90.3°.
Pomona has warm winters and warm summers, with very little rain. The January low in Pomona is 44°F. Snow is almost unheard of.
| Pomona | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| January low | 44°F | 40°F | 22°F |
| July high | 90°F | 89°F | 85°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Most working residents leave Pomona for work: only 11% work in town. Since 2013, Pomona has added 8,318 jobs, to 48,443 in 2023. 14% of Pomona residents live below the poverty line.
| Pomona | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 32 minutes | 28 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 14% | 10% | 9.6% |
| Work from home | 9.3% | 14% | 11% |
| Working residents who work in town | 11% | 6.6% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
All 6 graded neighbors score healthier than its C+, from San Dimas (A−) to Claremont (A).
Pomona beats the California average on 4 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 16. 43% of adults feel lonely in Pomona.
| Pomona | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 43% | 36% | 33% |
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 16% | 14% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 69% | 72% | 79% |
| No health insurance, 18–64 (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 9% | 8.1% |
| What stands out | Pomona | CA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 4.4% | 6.4% |
| Fewer adults with arthritis | 17.8% | 20.8% |
| More uninsured adults | 17.4% | 10.6% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
The typical Pomona home is worth about $674,000, about the same as a year ago, 11% below the California typical home.
| Pomona | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 54% | 64% | 73% |
| Renters paying 30%+ of income on rent | 60% | 55% | 48% |
| Median rent | $1,810 a month | $1,898 a month | $1,185 a month |
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
5.8 miles of trail in 26 parks and preserves. The biggest park or preserve is Ganesha Park, at 61 acres.
| Pomona | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.3 miles per square mile | 1.0 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 2.8% | 4.3% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Palomares Park | 1 mi | 17 |
| 2. Country Crossing Park | 0.8 mi | 13 |
| 3. Phillips Ranch Park | 0.8 mi | 12 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
26 within 15 miles of the center of Pomona
About 8 of every 100 Pomona residents are enrolled in college, about the same as California.
2 colleges in town.
12 places in Pomona on the National Register of Historic Places.
61 notable people were born in Pomona.
City in California, United States
Pomona ( pə-MOH-nə) is a city in the San Gabriel Valley of eastern Los Angeles County, California, United States. At the 2020 census, the city's population was 151,713. The main campus of California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, also known as Cal Poly Pomona, lies partially within Pomona's city limits, with the rest being located in the neighboring unincorporated community of Walnut Islands. It is the most populous city in the San Gabriel Valley.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
8 towns share a border with Pomona.
All 6 graded towns on its borders grade higher than its D; San Dimas (C+) is closest.
| Town | CA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pomona | #671 | D | D | D | C+ | C+ |
| San Dimas | #273 | C+ | D− | C | A | A− |
| La Verne | #237 | B− | D− | C | A | A− |
| Claremont | #185 | B− | D− | C− | A− | A |
| Diamond Bar | #224 | B− | D− | C+ | B+ | A |
| Walnut | #127 | B | D− | B− | A− | A |
| Industry | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Chino Hills | #165 | B | D− | — | A− | A |
Chino Hills reports no FBI crime data of its own. Industry isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Compare Pomona with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Pomona grades D overall, better than 6% of U.S. towns and #671 of 841 in California. It grades C+ for health, D for safety and C+ for schools. Hazard risk is its weak spot, with a D−.
Yes. That is 7 years of the area's median household income ($95,958 across the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA metro area). Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades D.
61 notable people were born here, including Jessica Alba and Tom Waits.
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