Ontario, California
Cost of living, housing, income, commute, climate, and safety — compiled for relocators researching Ontario.
Key figures
Each metric shows how Ontario compares with the U.S. baseline (ACS/BLS nationals where available; catalog-city averages for crime, climate, and commute). Income, housing, population, and crime are for the incorporated city (city limits), not the broader metro/MSA — unemployment is county-level (BLS LAUS).
- Population
- 178,347City limits · not metro/MSA
- Median household income
- $82,806Incorporated place (ACS)5% above U.S. avgU.S. $78,538
- Housing cost index
- 165ACS home+rent vs U.S. (100 = avg)65% above U.S. avgU.S. 100
- Median home value
- $568,000City limits (ACS)87% above U.S. avgU.S. $303,400
- Median rent
- $1,916City limits (ACS)42% above U.S. avgU.S. $1,348
- Unemployment
- 4.6%County LAUS · not city-onlyNear U.S. avg (4.2 pts)U.S. 4.2 pts
- Avg commute
- 32 min28% above U.S. avgU.S. 25 min
- Walk Score
- 427% below U.S. avgU.S. 45
- Violent crime rate
- 359.5annualized per 100k · citywide40% below U.S. avgU.S. 602.7
- Property crime rate
- 2340.1annualized per 100k · citywide24% below U.S. avgU.S. 3084.9
- Summer high
- 92°F5.0°F above U.S. avgU.S. 87°F
- Winter low
- 45°F11.0°F above U.S. avgU.S. 34°F
- Annual rainfall
- 11.6 in65% below U.S. avgU.S. 32.9 in
- Sunny days
- 33024% above U.S. avgU.S. 266
Compare Ontario with another city
Ontario, California counts about 178,347 residents inside the city limits. Households here report a median income near $82,806; our housing-derived cost index is about 165 (well above the national housing-cost baseline). A typical home near $568,000 and rents around $1,916 frame most shortlists.
Pacific weather, wildfire seasons, and housing scarcity dominate relocation tradeoffs. Roughly 330 sunny days a year give outdoor routines unusual calendar reliability. Commutes average near 32 minutes one-way, with walkability near 42/100. BLS LAUS puts recent unemployment around 4.6% for the surrounding county. Violent-offense rates around 359.5 per 100k are moderate for a large U.S. city, with meaningful variation by neighborhood.
Ontario is compact enough that a single wrong neighborhood choice is easy to feel day to day — visit at commute hour before signing. Figures on this page are merged from Census ACS, BLS LAUS, FBI Crime Data Explorer, and NOAA Climate Normals — use them to compare Ontario with nearby alternatives before you relocate.
Nearby & similar cities
Continue researching with these internal links — each page is a full data profile.
Sources
- Census / ACS: U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2023 5-year (Ontario city, 1600000US0653896)
- BLS: BLS LAUS LAUCN060710000000003 (San Bernardino County, May 2026)
- Crime: FBI CIUS Table 8 (2019) city offenses known to law enforcement — rates per 100k; CDE API unavailable at enrich time
- Climate: NOAA 1991–2020 Monthly Normals (USW00003102 ONTARIO INTL AP)
Last updated 2026-07-28