San Bernardino has plenty to offer, but the price of admission usually comes with traffic, sky-high rent, and a calendar that fills itself.
If you want the upside of San Bernardino without the daily grind, the answer is almost always a good suburb. The catch: not every suburb is worth the move.
So we ranked them. Using Saturday Night Science, we pulled the numbers on every place within commuting distance of San Bernardino: incomes, home prices, unemployment, schools, the works. The result is a no-nonsense ranking of where you actually want to live.
Table Of Contents: Top Ten | Methodology | Summary | Table
The 10 best suburbs to live around San Bernardino for 2026:
What’s the best suburb of San Bernardino? El Cerrito ranks as the best suburb of San Bernardino for 2026 based on the most recent Census and FBI data. If you happen to be a resident of El Cerrito, you’re probably not too surprised to find it on the top our list.
We’ll tell you what makes each of these 10 San Bernardino ‘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 San Bernardino Suburbs To Live For 2026
/10
Population: 25,994
Median Income: $127,876
Unemployment Rate: 5.8%
Poverty Rate: 6.9%
More on El Cerrito: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers
El Cerrito is always mentioned as one of the best suburbs in the San Bernardino area. We’ll tell you the good about “Awesome El Cerrito.”
Everyone here is rich; families average $127,876 a year, which is the 2nd highest in the San Bernardino region. And only 5.83% are out of work. Homes average more than $1,142,478 each.
/10
Population: 70,633
Median Income: $160,069
Unemployment Rate: 4.7%
Poverty Rate: 4.8%
More on Eastvale: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers
Eastvale is the second best ‘burb we looked at near San Bernardino for 2026.
It ranks 1st for incomes in the area and only 3.79% of residents lack insurance, good for 4th best.
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Population: 36,595
Median Income: $125,647
Unemployment Rate: 5.1%
Poverty Rate: 6.9%
More on Claremont: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers
Here in Claremont, it’s really safe, and residents are just about as rich as you’ll see in the San Bernardino 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 Claremont.
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Population: 175,411
Median Income: $111,895
Unemployment Rate: 5.9%
Poverty Rate: 8.0%
More on Rancho Cucamonga: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers
Rancho Cucamonga ranks as the 4th best suburb of San Bernardino for 2026.
You won’t find many better places to raise your kids in the region than in Rancho Cucamonga and the schools are some of the best around.
Rancho Cucamonga is a suburban town that doesn’t have a high rate of crime and is known to house upper middle class families. Although a lot of families live here there are some areas that younger people stay even though it can be very expensive.
Favorite place to visit is the mall called Victoria Gardens. An outdoor mall that is a little on the pricey side, but caters towards all different types of crowds.
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Population: 33,789
Median Income: $105,321
Unemployment Rate: 4.6%
Poverty Rate: 9.9%
More on San Dimas: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers
Coming in as the fifth best is San Dimas.
San Dimas gets kudos for having the 6th most expensive homes in the San Bernardino area, where houses sell for an average of $927,055. However, the cost of living here is among the highest in the area.
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Population: 30,600
Median Income: $103,761
Unemployment Rate: 7.1%
Poverty Rate: 8.5%
More on La Verne: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers
La Verne 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 7.13%.
According to online reports, La Verne is quickly becoming one of the more affluent suburbs in the San Bernardino area, meaning you need to get in soon.
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Population: 79,257
Median Income: $105,830
Unemployment Rate: 5.4%
Poverty Rate: 9.3%
More on Upland: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers
The 7th best suburb on our list goes to Upland.
Upland 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 21.0 miles to downtown, which is a good thing.
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Population: 25,054
Median Income: $127,566
Unemployment Rate: 4.8%
Poverty Rate: 5.6%
More on Norco: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers
Norco 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 6.28% of people lack insurance, good for 14th in the area.
hey i lived in Norco for 30 years and Im not a redneck…Oh… wait, maybe I am. lol
/10
Population: 77,927
Median Income: $126,334
Unemployment Rate: 6.9%
Poverty Rate: 7.6%
More on Chino Hills: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers
Is ‘Everything Better In Chino 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.
/10
Population: 159,670
Median Income: $109,242
Unemployment Rate: 5.5%
Poverty Rate: 8.7%
More on Corona: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers
And rounding out the top ten for 2026 is Corona.
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 San Bernardino for 2026
Figuring out the best suburbs around San Bernardino 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 2020-2024 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 San Bernardino.
Additionally, we limited the analysis to places that have over 5,000 people. This left us with a grand total of 34 suburbs to evaluate around San Bernardino.
We ranked each place with scores from 1 to 34 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 San Bernardino.” We’re lookin’ at you, El Cerrito.
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 2026. This report is our eleventh time ranking the best San Bernardino suburbs. Skip to the end to see the list of all the suburbs ranked from best to worst.
Summary: Welcome to the Best San Bernardino ‘Burbs of 2026
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 San Bernardino are .
So if you’re craving the amenities of a larger city like San Bernardino 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 San Bernardino Suburbs
| Rank | City | Population | Median Income | Average Home Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | El Cerrito, CA | 25,994 | $127,876 | $1,142,478 |
| 2 | Eastvale, CA | 70,633 | $160,069 | $949,255 |
| 3 | Claremont, CA | 36,595 | $125,647 | $1,039,337 |
| 4 | Rancho Cucamonga, CA | 175,411 | $111,895 | $792,764 |
| 5 | San Dimas, CA | 33,789 | $105,321 | $927,055 |
| 6 | La Verne, CA | 30,600 | $103,761 | $951,547 |
| 7 | Upland, CA | 79,257 | $105,830 | $825,788 |
| 8 | Norco, CA | 25,054 | $127,566 | $918,950 |
| 9 | Chino Hills, CA | 77,927 | $126,334 | $996,262 |
| 10 | Corona, CA | 159,670 | $109,242 | $764,386 |
| 11 | Redlands, CA | 73,375 | $105,041 | $636,035 |
| 12 | Calimesa, CA | 10,902 | $87,181 | $566,184 |
| 13 | Chino, CA | 92,652 | $104,682 | $761,425 |
| 14 | Beaumont, CA | 56,266 | $107,118 | $537,095 |
| 15 | Grand Terrace, CA | 13,078 | $83,628 | $587,468 |
| 16 | Loma Linda, CA | 25,122 | $82,353 | $640,816 |
| 17 | Fontana, CA | 214,169 | $102,821 | $639,031 |
| 18 | Riverside, CA | 319,069 | $91,045 | $646,784 |
| 19 | Yucaipa, CA | 54,421 | $90,794 | $570,222 |
| 20 | Big Bear Lake, CA | 5,041 | $76,250 | $551,706 |
| 21 | Ontario, CA | 180,547 | $88,941 | $672,742 |
| 22 | Jurupa Valley, CA | 107,011 | $97,550 | $672,514 |
| 23 | Moreno Valley, CA | 211,666 | $93,222 | $551,283 |
| 24 | Pomona, CA | 147,943 | $79,479 | $690,985 |
| 25 | Montclair, CA | 37,810 | $77,659 | $660,566 |
| 26 | Rialto, CA | 104,143 | $88,857 | $588,566 |
| 27 | Highland, CA | 56,675 | $77,120 | $545,939 |
| 28 | Apple Valley, CA | 75,473 | $69,882 | $432,342 |
| 29 | Colton, CA | 53,772 | $71,208 | $493,149 |
| 30 | Perris, CA | 80,511 | $88,911 | $543,988 |
| 31 | San Jacinto, CA | 55,180 | $80,647 | $482,811 |
| 32 | Banning, CA | 31,093 | $61,764 | $414,128 |
| 33 | Victorville, CA | 137,627 | $74,410 | $436,008 |
| 34 | Hesperia, CA | 100,775 | $72,160 | $460,686 |
