What is the cost of living in Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario?

Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario has a Regional Price Parity (RPP) of 106.4, where 100 represents the national average. Housing costs index at 129.3, which is above the national average. The average 2-bedroom rent is $2,201/month.

What is the median salary in Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario?

The median salary in Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario is $76,654 annually (mean: $80,790). Top occupations include Home Health and Personal Care Aides, Stockers and Order Fillers, Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand.

How safe is Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario?

The violent crime rate in the Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario area is 477 per 100,000 population (state-level data). Property crime rate is 1986 per 100K.

What are the schools like in Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario?

The state of CA has 10,006 schools (state-level data, no metro-level federal count exists) with an average student-teacher ratio of 21.5:1. Charter schools make up 12.8% of all schools.

How much does childcare cost in Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario?

Infant center-based childcare in the Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario area averages $17,920 per year. Preschool averages $11,385/year. These are state-level averages.

Is Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario a good place to relocate?

Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario has a Life Score of 39.8/100 (F), based on 7 of 7 available dimensions among cost of living, wages, rent, crime, schools, childcare, and environment (missing dims omitted, weights renormalized). This places Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario in the bottom decile of scored metros; compare individual dimensions to see where the biggest gaps are.

Where does Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario sit among US metros on LiveAbility?

According to PlainRelocate's LiveAbility composite, Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario ranks #385 of 387 scored US metros by LiveAbility Score (highest score = #1). That ordinal matches the /rankings/livability listing. See /methodology#corpus-placement for the exact sort basis.

Relocation profile · Federal data

Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA

LiveAbility 23.9/100 places Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario #385 of 387 (bottom third of scored metros).

Compiled by PlainRelocate · June 15, 2026

106.4
Cost index (US=100): $2,201
2BR rent / mo: $76,654
Median salary: 23.9
LiveAbility Score

The verdict

As of June 2026, Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario ranks #385 of 387 US metros on the LiveAbility Score (23.9/100), with its strongest marks in job market and climate.

#385
of 387 US metros · Well below median: 39,431,263
metro-area population: 477
violent crimes per 100K (state-level): 10,006
schools in the state (NCES)

Weakest dimension: air quality (0/100). Weigh every dimension against your own priorities, use the City Finder to re-rank by what matters to you.

According to PlainRelocate's LiveAbility composite (BEA, BLS, HUD, FBI, NCES, EPA, NOAA, and FEMA inputs), Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario ranks #385 of 387 scored US metros by LiveAbility Score (highest score = #1). Cost-of-living index 106.4 (100 = national average), median 2-bedroom rent $2,201/mo, median salary $76,654; LiveAbility Score 23.9/100, strongest in job market and climate.

Signature: LiveAbility 23.9/100 places Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario #385 of 387 (bottom third of scored metros).

Purchasing power tightens: BEA RPP 106.4 lands in the dearer third of scored metros (cuts at 91.5 / 97.0). Median 2BR rent $2,201/mo.

LiveAbility 23.9/100 puts Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario in the bottom third (#385 of 387).

BLS OEWS total employment in the Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario area is 1,694,510.

Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario vs all US metros by LiveAbility Score

Where this metro's LiveAbility Score falls among every scored US metro (composite placement, not a desirability verdict)

24 Top 99% higher than 1% of 387 US metros

Metros banded by LiveAbility Score (0–100)

Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more US metros. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count and share, and where it sits relative to this entry.

Source PlainRelocate LiveAbility Score · June 2026

Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario housing and rent

HUD Fair Market Rents for the Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario MSA; housing RPP 129.3 (100 = national average); 2BR $2,201/mo.

Studio

$1,692

/month

1 Bedroom

$1,777

/month

2 Bedroom

$2,201

/month

3 Bedroom

$2,912

/month

4 Bedroom

$3,514

/month

Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario wages and employment

Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario posts 1,694,510 total employment with median salary $76,654 against a dearer-than-average RPP.

Median Salary

$76,654

Mean Salary

$80,790

Total Employment

1,694,510

Top Occupations by Employment

Occupation	Median Salary
Home Health and Personal Care Aides	$34,320
Stockers and Order Fillers	$43,200
Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand	$46,060
Fast Food and Counter Workers	$42,280
Retail Salespersons	$36,720

Schools & Education

State-level education data for the Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario area from NCES.

Schools

10,006

Enrollment

5,787,663

Student:Teacher

21.5:1

Title I %

Childcare Costs

State-average childcare costs for the Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario area (DOL data).

Infant (Center)

$17,920

per year

Toddler (Center)

$12,300

per year

Preschool (Center)

$11,385

per year

Life Score Breakdown

Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario's composite Life Score is 39.8/100 (F), computed across 7 of 7 dimensions.

Cost

6/100

Bottom decile

Wages

92/100

Elite

Rent

5/100

Bottom decile

Crime

11/100

Bottom decile

Schools

95/100

Elite

Childcare

6/100

Bottom decile

Environment

77/100

Strong

LiveAbility Score

View full rankings →

Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario ranks #385 out of 387 metros with a LiveAbility Score of 23.9/100 - a composite of 8 of 8 quality-of-life dimensions from federal data. Customize the weights to match your priorities →

Strongest dimension: Job market (93/100)

Job market

93
Climate

66
Safety

11
Low hazard

10
Cost of living

6
Housing

5
Schools

5
Air quality

0

What this shows Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario's strongest dimensions are job market and climate; its weakest among scored dims is air quality at 0/100. Default weights: cost 18%, jobs & housing 15% each, safety & schools 12%, air & hazard 10%, climate 8%.

Compare Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario to

Albany-Schenectady-Troy Albuquerque Alexandria Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton Altoona Amarillo

Metros near Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario on cost, LiveAbility, or wages

Nearest out-of-state neighbors to Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario on BEA RPP, LiveAbility, or BLS median salary, a different lens than the size-ranked list.

Similar cost of living (BEA RPP)

Similar LiveAbility score

Source: BEA Regional Price Parities, HUD Fair Market Rents, BLS OES, FBI UCR, NCES, DOL, EPA June 2026

Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario cost figures follow BEA Regional Price Parities and HUD Fair Market Rents; Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario wages and LiveAbility inputs follow BLS OEWS plus the federal sources listed in methodology. This information is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute professional advice. Scores are federal-data percentiles, not a move recommendation. How this data is sourced.

Verify with BEA → · Verify with BLS → · Verify with HUD → · Verify with NOAA → · Verify with FEMA → · Verify with Census →

Thinking about Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario?

Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario runs a $76,654 median salary at a 106.4 cost index, ranking #385 of 387 nationally on LiveAbility.

See exactly what Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario's pay and cost figures mean for your own budget. Salary calculator
Put Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario head-to-head against another city on the same dimensions. Compare Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario
Abilene is the closest related metro in this corpus -- see how it stacks up. Abilene profile
A cheaper cost index and a higher LiveAbility score don't always point the same direction -- here's how to weigh the trade-off. Cost vs quality guide

Cost, salary and score figures are federal-data percentiles, not a move recommendation.