The 10 Best Riverside Suburbs To Live In For 2024


The best Riverside suburbs are Mission Viejo and Villa Park for 2024 based on Saturday Night Science.

While big cities like Riverside offer culture, cuisine, and charisma, they also deliver terrible traffic, towering expenses, and a taxing quality of life.

With that in mind, we wanted to uncover the best suburbs around Riverside. These burbs have all of the benefits of being near Riverside without actually having to be in the city.

Of course, not all suburbs of Riverside are created equally, which is precisely why we set out to find the best ones. Using Saturday Night Science, we delve into the factors that matter most, from commutes and housing costs to community vibes, to help you uncover the perfect suburban spots in the Greater Riverside area.


Table Of Contents: Top Ten | Methodology | Summary | Table


What’s the best suburb of Riverside? Mission Viejo ranks as the best suburb of Riverside for 2024 based on the most recent Census and FBI data. If you happen to be a resident of Mission Viejo, you’re probably not too surprised to find it on the top our list.

We’ll tell you what makes each of these 10 Riverside ‘burbs better than the rest–but first, a bit about our methodology.

Feel free to check out some more reading about California:

The 10 Best Riverside Suburbs To Live For 2024

Mission Viejo, CA

Source: Public domain
Overall SnackAbility

10
/10

Population: 93,233
Median Income: $136,570
Unemployment Rate: 4.4%
Poverty Rate: 4.9%
More on Mission Viejo: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

Mission Viejo is always mentioned as one of the best suburbs in the Riverside area. We’ll tell you the good about “Awesome Mission Viejo.”

Everyone here is rich; families average $136,570 a year, which is the 5th highest in the Riverside region. And only 4.41% are out of work. Homes average more than $1,077,063 each.

Villa Park, CA

Source: Wikipedia User Jeaniac | CC BY-SA 3.0
Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 5,814
Median Income: $189,306
Unemployment Rate: 1.3%
Poverty Rate: 7.2%
More on Villa Park: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

Villa Park is the second best ‘burb we looked at near Riverside for 2024.

It ranks 1st for incomes in the area and only 1.24% of residents lack insurance, good for best.

Yorba Linda, CA

Source: Wikipedia User Orange County Archives from Orange County, California, United States of America | CC BY 2.0
Overall SnackAbility

10
/10

Population: 68,035
Median Income: $148,325
Unemployment Rate: 4.6%
Poverty Rate: 6.0%
More on Yorba Linda: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

Here in Yorba Linda, it’s really safe, and residents are just about as rich as you’ll see in the Riverside metro area.

The bad side? Schools are more crowded, and the cost of living puts a large part of the city out of reach for most families.

But price is based on demand and a lot of people want to live in Yorba Linda.

Rancho Santa Margarita, CA

Source: Wikipedia User | CC BY-SA 3.0
Overall SnackAbility

10
/10

Population: 47,702
Median Income: $150,146
Unemployment Rate: 3.3%
Poverty Rate: 3.9%
More on Rancho Santa Margarita: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

Rancho Santa Margarita ranks as the 4th best suburb of Riverside for 2024.

You won’t find many better places to raise your kids in the region than in Rancho Santa Margarita and the schools are some of the best around.

El Cerrito, CA

Source: Public domain
Overall SnackAbility

8.5
/10

Population: 25,869
Median Income: $120,414
Unemployment Rate: 5.5%
Poverty Rate: 8.1%
More on El Cerrito: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

Coming in as the fifth best is El Cerrito.

El Cerrito gets kudos for having the 4th most expensive homes in the Riverside area, where houses sell for an average of $1,162,177. However, the cost of living here is among the highest in the area.

Eastvale, CA

Source: Wikipedia User Photograph by Brien Clark | CC BY-SA 2.5
Overall SnackAbility

9
/10

Population: 69,594
Median Income: $151,615
Unemployment Rate: 4.5%
Poverty Rate: 4.3%
More on Eastvale: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

Eastvale is proud of its 6th place finish on this list. And here’s why.

Most residents have great jobs and the unemployment rate sits at 4.47%.

According to online reports, Eastvale is quickly becoming one of the more affluent suburbs in the Riverside area, meaning you need to get in soon.

Lake Forest, CA

Source: Wikipedia User | CC BY-SA 3.0
Overall SnackAbility

9
/10

Population: 85,583
Median Income: $128,358
Unemployment Rate: 5.0%
Poverty Rate: 7.3%
More on Lake Forest: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

The 7th best suburb on our list goes to Lake Forest.

Lake Forest schools are some of the best in the region, and crime is really low. The cost of living makes it a lot more desirable for many families, especially first-time home buyers.

And, it’s only 25.4 miles to downtown, which is a good thing.

Walnut, CA

Source: Wikipedia User Trackinfo | CC BY-SA 3.0
Overall SnackAbility

9
/10

Population: 28,212
Median Income: $130,444
Unemployment Rate: 4.2%
Poverty Rate: 7.8%
More on Walnut: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

Walnut is growing quickly, and for a good reason. Crime is far below average, and most residents are gainfully employed. Even the cost of living is reasonable.

A solid 4.65% of people lack insurance, good for 17th in the area.

Laguna Hills, CA

Source: Wikipedia User Beyond My Ken | GFDL
Overall SnackAbility

9
/10

Population: 31,170
Median Income: $122,902
Unemployment Rate: 5.0%
Poverty Rate: 8.3%
More on Laguna Hills: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

Is ‘Everything Better In Laguna Hills?’

Almost.

It placed 9th on our list thanks to the fact that it’s really expensive to live here, but the schools are great, so you get what you pay for in that regard.

Brea, CA

Source: Public domain
Overall SnackAbility

9
/10

Population: 47,099
Median Income: $120,226
Unemployment Rate: 5.0%
Poverty Rate: 6.7%
More on Brea: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

And rounding out the top ten for 2024 is Brea.

This city is far above average in every category, and the best part? It’s far more affordable than the other cities listed above. So, you get a big bang for your buck here.

Methodology: How We Determined The Best Suburbs Around Riverside for 2024

Figuring out the best suburbs around Riverside was simple. We used Saturday Night Science to find things people like about living in the suburbs and then locate the suburbs with those things.

We analyzed the newest American Community Survey data for 2018-2022 to research each suburb. We decided upon the following criteria:

  • Low unemployment rate
  • High median household incomes
  • Population density (lots of things to do)
  • High home values
  • A lot of college-educated people
  • Low poverty
  • High rate of insured families

We defined a suburb as being within 30 miles of Riverside.

Additionally, we limited the analysis to places that have over 5,000 people. This left us with a grand total of 54 suburbs to evaluate around Riverside.

We ranked each place with scores from 1 to 54 in each category, where 1 was the “best.

Next, we averaged the rankings for each place to create a quality-of-life index.

Finally, we crowned the city with the best quality of life index, the “Best Suburb near Riverside.” We’re lookin’ at you, Mission Viejo.

This result may differ from our state-wide data as we did not include commute times and crime for this analysis to allow for a more extensive selection of suburbs.

We updated the data for 2024. This report is our tenth time ranking the best Riverside suburbs. Skip to the end to see the list of all the suburbs ranked from best to worst.

Summary: Welcome to the Best Riverside ‘Burbs of 2024

We said it once, and we’ll say it again–life in the big city isn’t for everyone. At least not all the time.

The best suburbs of Riverside are .

So if you’re craving the amenities of a larger city like Riverside but don’t want to deal with the drawbacks, one of these suburbs might be for you.

For more California reading, check out:

Table: Best Riverside Suburbs

Rank City Population Median Income Average Home Price
1 Mission Viejo, CA 93,233 $136,570 $1,077,063
2 Villa Park, CA 5,814 $189,306 $2,030,498
3 Yorba Linda, CA 68,035 $148,325 $1,245,181
4 Rancho Santa Margarita, CA 47,702 $150,146 $938,523
5 El Cerrito, CA 25,869 $120,414 $1,162,177
6 Eastvale, CA 69,594 $151,615 $884,749
7 Lake Forest, CA 85,583 $128,358 $1,056,345
8 Walnut, CA 28,212 $130,444 $1,093,688
9 Laguna Hills, CA 31,170 $122,902 $1,076,942
10 Brea, CA 47,099 $120,226 $1,019,390
11 Claremont, CA 36,891 $115,091 $926,202
12 Placentia, CA 51,797 $106,155 $973,725
13 Irvine, CA 304,527 $122,948 $1,331,528
14 Canyon Lake, CA 11,108 $120,938 $675,301
15 Diamond Bar, CA 54,534 $106,881 $934,630
16 Orange, CA 138,728 $109,335 $991,595
17 Rancho Cucamonga, CA 174,696 $105,534 $736,775
18 La Verne, CA 31,239 $103,816 $888,737
19 Norco, CA 25,328 $120,636 $821,192
20 Glendora, CA 52,095 $106,718 $836,144
21 Chino Hills, CA 78,223 $117,548 $913,774
22 Murrieta, CA 111,899 $106,925 $661,427
23 Upland, CA 78,847 $93,994 $773,135
24 Tustin, CA 79,514 $102,065 $1,015,712
25 San Dimas, CA 34,466 $102,241 $863,283
26 Corona, CA 158,346 $103,727 $721,686
27 Covina, CA 50,717 $89,650 $739,542
28 Calimesa, CA 10,366 $74,236 $539,879
29 Laguna Woods, CA 17,452 $56,928 $409,471
30 Anaheim, CA 347,111 $88,538 $844,174
31 Chino, CA 91,008 $99,385 $711,183
32 Redlands, CA 73,234 $94,473 $598,867
33 Beaumont, CA 53,544 $102,469 $511,741
34 Grand Terrace, CA 13,104 $89,781 $543,495
35 Fontana, CA 209,279 $93,230 $592,297
36 Yucaipa, CA 54,428 $85,075 $541,890
37 Menifee, CA 103,680 $87,871 $554,315
38 Loma Linda, CA 24,883 $70,685 $601,788
39 Ontario, CA 176,326 $78,070 $627,446
40 Montclair, CA 37,842 $72,789 $614,701
41 Pomona, CA 149,831 $73,515 $619,187
42 Lake Elsinore, CA 69,993 $89,788 $556,993
43 Wildomar, CA 36,822 $89,912 $617,209
44 Moreno Valley, CA 209,578 $82,637 $523,823
45 Jurupa Valley, CA 105,672 $91,562 $617,207
46 Lakeland, CA 114,404 $58,290 $292,407
47 Rialto, CA 103,873 $80,750 $539,398
48 Highland, CA 56,789 $72,222 $500,464
49 Colton, CA 53,959 $66,725 $462,959
50 Hemet, CA 89,651 $49,901 $425,611
51 Perris, CA 78,881 $78,352 $510,724
52 San Jacinto, CA 54,077 $73,682 $456,347
53 San Bernardino, CA 221,041 $61,323 $455,364
54 Banning, CA 29,929 $54,083 $390,975
About Chris Kolmar

Chris Kolmar has been in the real estate business for almost ten years now. He originally worked for Movoto Real Estate as the director of marketing before founding HomeSnacks.

He believes the key to finding the right place to live comes down to looking at the data, reading about things to do, and, most importantly, checking it out yourself before you move.

If you've been looking for a place to live in the past several years, you've probably stumbled upon his writing already.

You can find out more about him on LinkedIn or his website.