San Bernardino, California
Cost of living, housing, income, commute, climate, and safety — compiled for relocators researching San Bernardino.
Key figures
Each metric shows how San Bernardino 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
- 221,774City limits · not metro/MSA
- Median household income
- $63,988Incorporated place (ACS)19% below U.S. avgU.S. $78,538
- Housing cost index
- 117ACS home+rent vs U.S. (100 = avg)17% above U.S. avgU.S. 100
- Median home value
- $384,900City limits (ACS)27% above U.S. avgU.S. $303,400
- Median rent
- $1,433City limits (ACS)6% 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
- 30 min20% above U.S. avgU.S. 25 min
- Walk Score
- 45Near U.S. avg (45)U.S. 45
- Violent crime rate
- 1318.8annualized per 100k · citywide119% above U.S. avgU.S. 602.7
- Property crime rate
- 4190.3annualized per 100k · citywide36% above U.S. avgU.S. 3084.9
- Summer high
- 92°F5.0°F above U.S. avgU.S. 87°F
- Winter low
- 44°F10.0°F above U.S. avgU.S. 34°F
- Annual rainfall
- 9.4 in71% below U.S. avgU.S. 32.9 in
- Sunny days
- 33024% above U.S. avgU.S. 266
Compare San Bernardino with another city
About 221,774 people live in San Bernardino, CA. Median household income is roughly $63,988, while the ACS housing-cost index sits near 117 — above the national housing-cost baseline (100 ≈ U.S. average). Entry home prices around $384,900 still look attainable compared with coastal metros.
San Bernardino 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 San Bernardino with nearby alternatives before you relocate.
Pacific weather, wildfire seasons, and housing scarcity dominate relocation tradeoffs. Roughly 330 sunny days a year give outdoor routines unusual calendar reliability. Plan on roughly 30 minutes each way for a typical commute; Walk Score is about 45. Unemployment recently ran near 4.6%, broadly in line with many large U.S. counties. FBI CDE violent-offense rates run comparatively high (~1318.8 per 100k annualized), so block-by-block due diligence is especially important.
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 (San Bernardino city, 1600000US0665000)
- 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 (USW00003171 RIVERSIDE MUNI AP)
Last updated 2026-07-28