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Big city living isn't for everyone--but at the same time, urban areas certainly have their perks.
There's the culture, the food, the arts, the food, the energy, and you know, the food. But there are drawbacks. There's traffic, expensive parking, expensive housing--pretty much, expensive everything, depending on which big city you're looking at.
But that's where the suburbs come in--they have all of the benefits of being near big cities, without actually having to be big cities.
Of course, not all suburbs of San Bernardino are created equally, which is precisely why we set out to find the best ones. So without further ado...
Here are the 10 best suburbs to live around San Bernardino for 2022:
What's the best suburb of San Bernardino? El Cerrito ranks as the best suburb of San Bernardino for 2022 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.
Note: 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 larger selection of suburbs.
Feel free to check out some more reading about California:
The 10 Best San Bernardino Suburbs To Live For 2022
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 $108,294 a year, which is the 2nd highest in the San Bernardino region. And only 4.95% are out of work. Homes average more than $858,000 each.
/10
Population: 25,280
Rank Last Year: 1 (No Change)
Median Income: $108,294
Unemployment Rate: 4.9%
Poverty Rate: 8.0%
More on El Cerrito: Real Estate | Data | Photos
Eastvale is the second best 'burb we looked at near San Bernardino for 2022.
It ranks 1st for incomes in the area and only 4.73% of residents lack insurance, good for 7th best.
/10
Population: 65,766
Rank Last Year: 2 (No Change)
Median Income: $127,881
Unemployment Rate: 4.5%
Poverty Rate: 5.7%
More on Eastvale: Real Estate | Data | Photos
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.
/10
Population: 35,610
Rank Last Year: 3 (No Change)
Median Income: $101,080
Unemployment Rate: 6.2%
Poverty Rate: 4.8%
More on Claremont: Real Estate | Data | Photos
Chino Hills ranks as the 4th best suburb of San Bernardino for 2022.
You won't find many better places to raise your kids in the region than in Chino Hills and the schools are some of the best around.
/10
Population: 82,800
Rank Last Year: 4 (No Change)
Median Income: $104,661
Unemployment Rate: 5.0%
Poverty Rate: 6.9%
More on Chino Hills: Real Estate | Data | Photos
Coming in as the fifth best is Rancho Cucamonga.
Rancho Cucamonga gets kudos for having the 9th most expensive homes in the San Bernardino area, where houses sell for an average of $515,600. However, the cost of living here is among the highest in the area.
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Population: 178,060
Rank Last Year: 6 (Up 1)
Median Income: $92,290
Unemployment Rate: 5.5%
Poverty Rate: 6.8%
More on Rancho Cucamonga: Real Estate | Data | Photos
San Dimas 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 3.85% which is best in the area.
According to online reports, San Dimas 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: 33,812
Rank Last Year: 5 (Down 1)
Median Income: $90,234
Unemployment Rate: 3.8%
Poverty Rate: 8.8%
More on San Dimas: Real Estate | Data
The 7th best suburb on our list goes to La Verne.
La Verne 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 27.3 miles to downtown, which is a good thing.
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Population: 32,346
Rank Last Year: 7 (No Change)
Median Income: $93,473
Unemployment Rate: 7.9%
Poverty Rate: 8.4%
More on La Verne: Real Estate | Data | Photos
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 6.65% of people lack insurance, good for 16th in the area.
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Population: 27,021
Rank Last Year: 8 (No Change)
Median Income: $106,370
Unemployment Rate: 4.8%
Poverty Rate: 6.5%
More on Norco: Real Estate | Data
Is 'Everything Better In Upland?'
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: 77,348
Rank Last Year: 9 (No Change)
Median Income: $76,259
Unemployment Rate: 5.0%
Poverty Rate: 11.3%
More on Upland: Real Estate | Data | Photos
And rounding out the top ten for 2022 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.
/10
Population: 168,112
Rank Last Year: 10 (No Change)
Median Income: $88,434
Unemployment Rate: 4.3%
Poverty Rate: 9.5%
More on Corona: Real Estate | Data | Photos
Methodology: How We Determined The Best Suburbs Around San Bernardino for 2022
Figuring out the best suburbs around San Bernardino was pretty simple; we just needed to list several things that people like, and then find out which cities have the most of those things.
We threw a lot of criteria at this one in order to get the best, most complete results possible:
- 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
Then we used the newest American Community Survey data for 2016-2020 to research each suburb.
FYI: 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.
And 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. You can download the data here.
Read on below to learn more about what it's like to live in the best of the best. Or 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 2022
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.
So if you're hankering for some of the amenities of a larger city like San Bernardino, but don't want to deal with the drawbacks, one of these suburbs might just be for you.
For more California reading, check out:
Detailed List Of The Best San Bernardino Suburbs
Rank | City | Population |
---|---|---|
1 | El Cerrito, CA | 25,280 |
2 | Eastvale, CA | 65,766 |
3 | Claremont, CA | 35,610 |
4 | Chino Hills, CA | 82,800 |
5 | Rancho Cucamonga, CA | 178,060 |
6 | San Dimas, CA | 33,812 |
7 | La Verne, CA | 32,346 |
8 | Norco, CA | 27,021 |
9 | Upland, CA | 77,348 |
10 | Corona, CA | 168,112 |
11 | Redlands, CA | 71,680 |
12 | Grand Terrace, CA | 12,559 |
13 | Chino, CA | 89,170 |
14 | Yucaipa, CA | 54,358 |
15 | Beaumont, CA | 48,272 |
16 | Fontana, CA | 212,704 |
17 | Calimesa, CA | 9,156 |
18 | Riverside, CA | 327,569 |
19 | Loma Linda, CA | 24,239 |
20 | Ontario, CA | 178,194 |
21 | Big Bear Lake, CA | 5,302 |
22 | Pomona, CA | 151,124 |
23 | Moreno Valley, CA | 208,751 |
24 | Jurupa Valley, CA | 106,646 |
25 | Montclair, CA | 40,041 |
26 | Colton, CA | 54,215 |
27 | Highland, CA | 55,339 |
28 | Rialto, CA | 103,549 |
29 | Perris, CA | 77,708 |
30 | Apple Valley, CA | 73,339 |
31 | San Jacinto, CA | 48,786 |
32 | Banning, CA | 30,276 |
33 | Victorville, CA | 122,958 |
34 | Hesperia, CA | 95,163 |