Should I Move To
Roughly 209,279 people live in Fontana, California. Living here costs expensive relative to the rest of the country, 17% above the national average. Median rent runs about $1,616/mo; the typical household pulls in $93,230. On the UrbRank Score it pulls a 36/100 — a F, putting it at #883 nationally.
UrbRank Score · General
Each dimension scored 0-100 against every other US city.
Based on overall cost of living vs. other US cities.
Inverse of violent + property crime rate per 100,000 residents.
Temperate summers & winters, moderate precipitation.
Walk Score — how feasible daily errands are on foot.
Unemployment rate plus household income vs. national median.
Air quality index (EPA AQS data).
Share of residents 25+ with a bachelor's degree or higher.
By the composite index, Fontana sits at 117 — expensive when stacked against the rest of the country. Running the rent-to-income math ($1,616/mo against $93,230 median household income), housing eats roughly 21% of a typical paycheck — right inside the standard 30%-of-income guideline. Buying-side, the median home value is $506,600.
Full cost-of-living breakdown →The weather here is hot-summer: roughly 103°F in summer, 37°F in winter. Annual precipitation lands near 4 inches. Car-dependent for most errands, with small walkable pockets downtown or in older neighborhoods. Crime sits a notch better than the national norm — not crime-free, but a step above average. Air quality is moderate (AQI 56).
Verdict by lifestyle profile — same data, different priorities.
For families, Fontana isn't the strongest match. It earns 36/100 (grade F) on the families profile. Strongest on safety (83/100); weakest on environmental quality (2/100).
For retirees, Fontana isn't the strongest match. It earns 33/100 (grade F) on the retirees profile. Strongest on safety (83/100); weakest on environmental quality (2/100).
For remote workers, Fontana isn't the strongest match. It earns 30/100 (grade F) on the remote workers profile. Strongest on safety (83/100); weakest on environmental quality (2/100).
For young professionals, Fontana isn't the strongest match. It earns 42/100 (grade D) on the young professionals profile. Strongest on safety (83/100); weakest on environmental quality (2/100).
Fontana, California pulls a 36/100 overall on the UrbRank Score (grade F), currently ranked #883 nationally. The composite weights seven lifestyle dimensions: affordability, safety, climate, walkability, jobs, environment, and education.
Fontana's cost-of-living index is 117 (with 100 as the US average), which lands in the expensive band — 17% above the national average. Median rent runs about $1,616/mo.
Hot-summer — summer averages around 103°F, winter averages around 37°F, with about 4 inches of precipitation a year.
Walk Score: 36/100. Car-dependent for most errands, with small walkable pockets downtown or in older neighborhoods.
Fontana has about 209,279 residents, 20% of adults 25+ holding a bachelor's degree or higher with a median age of 33.
Use UrbRank's comparison tool to put Fontana head-to-head against any other US city — housing, salaries, demographics, and quality-of-life metrics side by side. The leaderboard pages also show how Fontana stacks up for families, retirees, remote workers, and young professionals specifically.
Every US city is scored 0-100 on seven dimensions using public data from the US Census Bureau, Bureau of Labor Statistics, FBI Crime Data Explorer, EPA Air Quality System, NOAA NCEI, and Walk Score. Each dimension is a percentile rank against every other city — so a score of 80 means the city is in the top 20% nationally on that dimension.
The overall score is a weighted average. Five lifestyle profiles — general, families, retirees, remote workers, young professionals — weight the dimensions differently to reflect what each cares about. Families get more weight on safety and schools; young professionals get more weight on jobs and walkability; retirees get more weight on climate.
Compare Fontana with other California cities scored on UrbRank.
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