Fontana, CA, known as 'The City of Action,' offers a unique blend of historic charm and modern urban amenities. Located in San Bernardino County, Fontana is a large city that serves as a major cultural and economic hub. Major nearby cities like Riverside and San Bernardino enhance its status as a central point in the region. Fontana's blend of historic landmarks, cultural festivals, and urban amenities creates a distinctive living experience.
Fontana is home to several iconic landmarks, including the Auto Club Speedway, the historic Center Stage Theater, and the scenic Mary Vagle Nature Center. The city offers a variety of attractions, from the beautiful Fontana Park to the bustling Falcon Ridge Town Center, known for its shopping and dining. Fontana's dining scene is diverse, offering everything from American cuisine to international dishes.
Annual events such as the Fontana Days Run and the Fontana Arts Festival highlight the city's vibrant cultural scene and provide unique entertainment opportunities for residents and visitors. These events celebrate Fontana's rich cultural heritage and community spirit. Prestigious institutions like Chaffey College Fontana Campus contribute to the city's academic and cultural vibrancy, fostering a thriving intellectual community.
The arts and culture scene in Fontana is dynamic and diverse, with numerous theaters, music venues, and art galleries. The Steelworkers' Auditorium and the Art Depot Gallery are just a few of the cultural landmarks that showcase the city's commitment to the arts. Living in Fontana provides ample opportunities to engage with art, music, and history, making it an exciting place to call home.
Fontana’s community is welcoming and diverse, creating a friendly environment for newcomers. The city is home to professional sports teams like the Inland Empire 66ers (MiLB) and the Ontario Reign (AHL), providing plenty of excitement for sports fans. Major industries in Fontana include healthcare, education, and manufacturing, with significant employers such as Kaiser Permanente and Fontana Unified School District driving economic growth. The city has extensive public transit options, including buses and bike-sharing programs, making commuting convenient for residents.
Commute
A high commute score suggests convenient, easy access to public transportation, with shorter-than-average work commute times to work.
Employment
This area excels in the employment category with a score well above average, primarily due to the higher median home income, per capita income and low unemployment rates.
Housing
High scores in the housing category are attributed to this area, possibly pointing to a favorable home affordability ratio, robust appreciation rates or elevated home values.
Amenities
A large portion of amenities are not ideally situated within walking distance, potentially requiring residents to utilize a vehicle or public transportation.
Cost Of Living
The cost of living in this area is notably high, making it a more expensive place to live. You'll find higher expenses for everyday goods and services, housing and groceries.
Health & Safety
A low health and safety score may be attributed to factors such as subpar air quality and the unavailability of certain health-related facilities like hospitals, clinics, doctors and pharmacies.
Schools
The lower than average schools score may be influenced by below-average education levels, subpar reading and math scores and the lack of access to local elementary and high schools.
Located in the state of California, Fontana is a big city with a population of 220,412 people. With a population density of 5,124 people per square mile, Fontana is well above the nation's average density level. More than a quarter of the residents of Fontana identify themselves as Hispanic or Latino, and 50% of the population speak Spanish as their primary or secondary language. If you are a young adult or student, you might be pleased to know that the average age of all Fontana residents is 31. When traveling to work, spending unnecessary time in your vehicle is not ideal and downright frustrating. Across all of America, the average one way commute time is 26 minutes, unfortunately, living in Fontana offers up a higher than average one way commute time of 35 minutes.
Whether you’re moving to a new area to be closer to family, friends or for a new job, living in Fontana could be a positive experience compared to other cities in California if you know where to look. Don't forget to determine what matters most to you in a neighborhood. Consider factors such as safety, proximity to work or school, access to amenities (like parks, fitness facilities, grocery stores, restaurants), public transportation options, community atmosphere and the overall vibe you're looking for. Finding the best places to live in Fontana and nearby areas is a much easier task when you can rely on information and data from the livability score, which includes amenities, commute, health & safety, education, housing and other important metrics.
Fontana, CA receives 65/100 for its livability score; this results in a ranking of #391 in California and #12,194 in the USA. Based on the rankings for each individual category, Fontana has been rewarded with high marks for crime (B-), employment (A-) and housing (A+). Fontana does not do well for the following: amenities (F), cost of living (F) and education (F). It might be a smart idea to take a closer look at each category to find out why.
A robust real estate market serves as a crucial economic indicator, reflecting the local area's strength, stability and the confidence of its residents. Fontana excels in the housing sector, scoring high marks based on factors such as median home and rental prices, appreciation rates and home affordability. These calculations suggest that the apartment rental and real estate market in the region is exceptionally healthy, highlighting the area's economic vitality and attractiveness to potential homebuyers and renters.
Being close to public transit, grocery stores, parks and other conveniences are all important when weighing your options for a new home in Fontana. Before you determine if any of these amenities are available in the area, you will also want to know if the real estate prices in Fontana are affordable. Median real estate prices in Fontana come in at $702,319, which is 4% lower than the California average. The home price to income ratio compares the median home prices to the median household income. In Fontana, the home price to income ratio is 6.2, which is 19.5% lower than the California average.
Why stop at city-to-city? With Local Insights, you can compare neighborhoods, zip codes, or even exact addresses. Access 300+ hyperlocal data points—from schools and crime to housing and amenities—to see which area is the better fit.
| Statistic | Fontana | California | National |
| Average one way commute | 35min | 28min | 26min |
| Workers who drive to work | 77.1% | 73.5% | 76.4% |
| Workers who carpool | 12.1% | 10.6% | 9.3% |
| Workers who take public transit | 1.6% | 5.2% | 5.1% |
| Workers who bicycle | 0.2% | 1.1% | 0.6% |
| Workers who walk | 1.3% | 2.7% | 2.8% |
| Working from home | 6.6% | 5.4% | 4.6% |
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