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.
$127,876 median income · $1,142,479 median home price
Located in
Contra Costa County, California
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 5.8% are out of work. Homes average more than $1,142,479 each.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$160,069 median income · $949,255 median home price
Located in
Riverside County, California
Eastvale is the second best ‘burb we looked at near San Bernardino for 2026.
It ranks 1st for incomes in the area and only 3.8% of residents lack insurance, good for 4th best.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$125,647 median income · $1,039,337 median home price
Located in
Los Angeles County, California
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.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$111,895 median income · $792,765 median home price
Located in
San Bernardino County, California
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.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$105,321 median income · $927,055 median home price
Located in
Los Angeles County, California
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.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$103,761 median income · $951,548 median home price
Located in
Los Angeles County, California
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 7.1%.
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.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$105,830 median income · $825,789 median home price
Located in
San Bernardino County, California
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.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$127,566 median income · $918,950 median home price
Located in
Riverside County, California
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 6.3% of people lack insurance, good for 14th in the area.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$126,334 median income · $996,262 median home price
Located in
San Bernardino County, California
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.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$109,242 median income · $764,386 median home price
Located in
Riverside County, California
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.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
The receipts
Compare the top ten
Pick a metric. The bars rescale. The red line is California’s statewide median.
California statewide median: $99,122
California statewide median: $774,582
California statewide median: 6.6%
California statewide median: 12.0%
On the map
Where the best San Bernardino suburbs are
Saturday Night Science
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.
The full plate
Table: Best San Bernardino Suburbs
Click any column to sort. Search by city name.
| Rank | City | Suburb Score | Population | Median Income | Median Home Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | El Cerrito | 4.00 | 25,994 | $127,876 | $1,142,479 |
| 2 | Eastvale | 4.42 | 70,633 | $160,069 | $949,255 |
| 3 | Claremont | 5.71 | 36,595 | $125,647 | $1,039,337 |
| 4 | Rancho Cucamonga | 8.57 | 175,411 | $111,895 | $792,765 |
| 5 | San Dimas | 9.50 | 33,789 | $105,321 | $927,055 |
| 6 | La Verne | 9.93 | 30,600 | $103,761 | $951,548 |
| 7 | Upland | 10.00 | 79,257 | $105,830 | $825,789 |
| 8 | Norco | 10.00 | 25,054 | $127,566 | $918,950 |
| 9 | Chino Hills | 10.71 | 77,927 | $126,334 | $996,262 |
| 10 | Corona | 12.14 | 159,670 | $109,242 | $764,386 |
| 11 | Redlands | 12.86 | 73,375 | $105,041 | $636,035 |
| 12 | Calimesa | 13.43 | 10,902 | $87,181 | $566,185 |
| 13 | Chino | 15.00 | 92,652 | $104,682 | $761,426 |
| 14 | Beaumont | 15.07 | 56,266 | $107,118 | $537,095 |
| 15 | Grand Terrace | 15.86 | 13,078 | $83,628 | $587,468 |
| 16 | Loma Linda | 17.00 | 25,122 | $82,353 | $640,816 |
| 17 | Fontana | 17.79 | 214,169 | $102,821 | $639,032 |
| 18 | Riverside | 17.86 | 319,069 | $91,045 | $646,784 |
| 19 | Yucaipa | 18.00 | 54,421 | $90,794 | $570,222 |
| 20 | Big Bear Lake | 18.14 | 5,041 | $76,250 | $551,706 |
| 21 | Ontario | 20.14 | 180,547 | $88,941 | $672,742 |
| 22 | Jurupa Valley | 21.00 | 107,011 | $97,550 | $672,514 |
| 23 | Moreno Valley | 21.29 | 211,666 | $93,222 | $551,284 |
| 24 | Pomona | 21.36 | 147,943 | $79,479 | $690,986 |
| 25 | Montclair | 22.14 | 37,810 | $77,659 | $660,566 |
| 26 | Rialto | 22.57 | 104,143 | $88,857 | $588,566 |
| 27 | Highland | 22.57 | 56,675 | $77,120 | $545,940 |
| 28 | Apple Valley | 26.00 | 75,473 | $69,882 | $432,343 |
| 29 | Colton | 26.21 | 53,772 | $71,208 | $493,150 |
| 30 | Perris | 26.29 | 80,511 | $88,911 | $543,988 |
| 31 | San Jacinto | 26.57 | 55,180 | $80,647 | $482,811 |
| 32 | Banning | 28.29 | 31,093 | $61,764 | $414,128 |
| 33 | Victorville | 28.50 | 137,627 | $74,410 | $436,009 |
| 34 | Hesperia | 30.14 | 100,775 | $72,160 | $460,687 |
Source: U.S. Census ACS 2020-2024. 34 suburbs within 30 miles of San Bernardino.
Summary
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 El Cerrito, Eastvale, Claremont, Rancho Cucamonga, San Dimas, La Verne, Upland, Norco, Chino Hills, and Corona.
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. Not sold on California? Take the two-minute Find Your Place quiz and see which state actually fits you.
Questions and answers
Best Suburbs Of San Bernardino FAQs
What is the best suburb of San Bernardino?
El Cerrito is the best suburb of San Bernardino for 2026, according to Saturday Night Science. Eastvale and Claremont are next.
What are the best suburbs of San Bernardino?
The best suburbs of San Bernardino are El Cerrito, Eastvale, Claremont, Rancho Cucamonga, San Dimas, La Verne, Upland, Norco, Chino Hills, and Corona. We ranked all 34 places within commuting range.
How expensive is El Cerrito?
The median household income in El Cerrito is $127,876 and the median home costs $1,142,479. Top suburbs rarely come cheap; that is part of how they got there.
What counts as a suburb of San Bernardino?
Any place within 30 miles of San Bernardino qualifies. 34 towns fit that circle, and every one of them got scored.
How do you rank San Bernardino suburbs?
Each suburb is scored on income, home values, density, unemployment, education, insurance coverage, and poverty, using Census American Community Survey data. The best combined score, El Cerrito, takes the crown.
