Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Riverside grades D overall, ranked 568th of 841 in California, mostly because of safety. Its crime rate is higher than 90% of U.S. towns, with 1,735 violent crimes reported to the FBI in 2025. What it does well: it is more walkable than 90% of U.S. towns. Riverside’s trail density is 2.0 miles per square mile, above both California’s towns (1.0) and U.S. towns (0.4). Its National Register listings include Mission Inn and Harada House. FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 94% of U.S. communities, with inland flooding at the top.
Where Riverside beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Mission Inn| College | Students |
|---|---|
| University of California-Riverside | 26,138 |
| Riverside City College | 13,488 |
| California Baptist University | 8,683 |
Mission Inn is one of 2 National Historic Landmarks here, the National Register’s top tier. Its 24 National Register listings are more than in 97% of California towns with a listing.
Census counts: 4,683 in 1890, 314,998 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1870 and 6 maps from 1901 on.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within California), ordered by how far Riverside is from typical.
Its grades run from A for walkability (better than 90% of comparable towns) to D− for hazard risk (better than 4%), so the D overall blends very different results.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Riverside. Close and well known come first.
Big draw32 mi Theme parkDisneyland17.3M visitors a year
Big draw35 mi Theme parkKnott's Berry Farm4.5M visitors a year
Big draw30 mi Stadium & arenaAngel Stadium of Anaheim
Big draw32 mi Theme parkDisney California Adventure10.1M visitors a year
29 mi Stadium & arenaHonda Centerin town Theme parkCastle ParkDisneyland: HarshLight from San Jose, CA, USA, CC BY 2.0 · Knott's Berry Farm: Phydend at English Wikipedia, Public domain · Angel Stadium of Anaheim: Staff Sgt. Chad McMeen, Public domain · Disney California Adventure: CrispyCream27, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Honda Center: Arnold C (Buchanan-Hermit), Attribution
Who provides power, water and the rest in Riverside, 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 Riverside.
Riverside has more 90° days than nearly all U.S. towns and trades workers with Corona and other neighbors, but it reports more crime than Jurupa Valley and its other graded neighbors.
Riverside sits above both the California town median (4.2%) and the median of U.S. towns (4.3%) on this measure. 162 miles of trail in 58 parks and preserves. Sycamore Canyon Wilderness Park, at 1,416 acres with 27.2 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Sycamore Canyon Wilderness Park | 27.2 mi | 1,416 |
| 2. Santa Ana River Wildlife Area | 4.4 mi | 478 |
| 3. Challen Park | 3 mi | 35 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its public schools are run by the Riverside Unified school district. Two of its 94 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mark Twain ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades K–6 | Grades K–6 | 1,033 | C− |
| Martin Luther King Jr. HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 2,699 | – |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within CA on state tests and graduation
Each of the 3 graded towns on its borders reports less crime per resident, from Jurupa Valley (C) to Norco (C). Reported crimes fell from 12,672 to 8,753 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
Riverside’s violent crime rate is 5.3 per 1,000 residents. Riverside reports more crime per resident than most U.S. towns we grade: about 90% report less. Riverside’s property crime rate is 21.5 per 1,000 residents.
| Riverside | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 5.3 per 1,000 residents | 2.9 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 21.5 per 1,000 residents | 13.3 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Since 1979, 31 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Riverside.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
The Riverside Fire Stn 3 weather station records that about 110 days a year reach 90°, more than in 97% of U.S. towns. January nights average 42.9°, milder than in 96% of U.S. towns; July afternoons average 93.9°.
Riverside has warm winters and hot summers, with very little rain. The July high in Riverside is 94°F. Snow is almost unheard of.
| Riverside | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| July high | 94°F | 89°F | 85°F |
| January low | 43°F | 40°F | 22°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Riverside has about as many jobs (149,219) as working residents, but only 29,903 people both live and work here.
About one in 4 of Riverside’s working residents works in town. Since 2013, Riverside has added 18,906 jobs, to 149,219 in 2023. The top destinations are Corona (6%), Los Angeles (4%) and Ontario (4%).
| Riverside | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 23% | 6.6% | 8% |
| Average trip to work | 31 minutes | 28 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 12% | 10% | 9.6% |
| Work from home | 11% | 14% | 11% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
The typical Riverside home is worth about $642,000, up 0.9% in a year, 16% below the California typical home. 57% of households own their home in Riverside.
| Riverside | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 57% | 64% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,914 a month | $1,895 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Renters paying 30%+ of income on rent | 59% | 55% | 48% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Against the 9,844 U.S. towns with household incomes like Riverside’s, it is less healthy than 72%, so it trails even them.
Riverside beats the California average on 1 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 13. 70% of Riverside adults had a checkup this year.
| Riverside | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 70% | 72% | 79% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 38% | 36% | 33% |
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 23% | 16% | 14% |
| No health insurance, 18–64 (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 9% | 8.1% |
| What stands out | Riverside | CA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 5.3% | 6.4% |
| More adults facing a utility shut-off | 9.7% | 7.3% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
17 within 15 miles of the center of Riverside
About 11 of every 100 Riverside residents are enrolled in college, against 8 across California.
5 colleges in town.
24 places in Riverside on the National Register of Historic Places.
35 notable people were born in Riverside.
City in California, United States
Riverside is a city in and the county seat of Riverside County, California, United States. It is named for its location beside the Santa Ana River in Southern California. It is the most populous city in the Inland Empire and Riverside County, 12th-most populous city in California, and 62nd-most populous city in the U.S. with a population of 314,998 at the 2020 census. The Riverside–San Bernardino metropolitan area at 4.74 million residents is the 12th-largest metropolitan area in the nation. Riverside is about 50 miles (80 km) east of downtown Los Angeles and is also part of the Greater Los Angeles area. Riverside was founded in the early 1870s. It is the birthplace of the California citrus…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
9 towns share a border with Riverside.
| Town | CA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Riverside | #568 | D | D | D | B | C+ |
| El Sobrante | #296 | C+ | D− | — | B | A− |
| Highgrove | #351 | C | D− | — | B | B− |
| Norco | #374 | C | D− | C | B+ | B− |
| Moreno Valley | #652 | D | D | C | C+ | C |
| Woodcrest | #322 | C+ | D | — | B | B |
| March ARB | — | — | D− | — | C+ | D |
| Jurupa Valley | #653 | D | D | C | C+ | C |
March ARB has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. El Sobrante, Highgrove, Woodcrest and March ARB report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Riverside with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Riverside grades D overall, better than 14% of U.S. towns and #568 of 841 in California. It grades C+ for health, D for safety 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 D.
35 notable people were born here, including Amy Lee and Reggie Miller.
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