Best PlacesDowntown Riverside, Riverside, CA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Downtown Riverside, Riverside, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. The coast is close, and the measures below put a number on how close. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Downtown Riverside, Riverside ranks 4,374th of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on the weather by a wide margin, and air quality ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Downtown Riverside, Riverside
BestNeighborhood is the only ranking that scores 40 measures of daily life neighborhood by neighborhood and lets you re-weight every one of them yourself.
Downtown Riverside, Riverside's strengths and weaknesses
Where Downtown Riverside, Riverside ranks high
- Nice weatherabout 233 pleasant days a year, better than 92% of neighborhoods
- Low property taxBetter than 91% of neighborhoods
- Big-city accessBetter than 87% of neighborhoods
- BikingBetter than 82% of neighborhoods
- WalkabilityBetter than 71% of neighborhoods
Where Downtown Riverside, Riverside ranks low
- Air qualityBetter than only 1% of neighborhoods
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 9% of neighborhoods
- Short commute30.8 minutes each way, better than only 16% of neighborhoods
- QuietBetter than only 18% of neighborhoods
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 20% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in Downtown Riverside, Riverside
A household needs to earn about $149,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Downtown Riverside, Riverside home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $77,021, so buying stretches a typical household.
Where the monthly payment goes
Assumes a 20% down payment, a 6.6% 30-year fixed rate, and a 28% share of income going to the payment. The rate is the 2026-07-23 30-year fixed average, series MORTGAGE30US from the St. Louis Fed, which publishes Freddie Mac's weekly survey. Against the median home value, property tax uses Downtown Riverside, Riverside's effective rate of 0.52%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices and rents, renting stays cheaper than buying across the first 10 years here, so the case for buying rests on staying much longer or on prices rising faster than assumed. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Downtown Riverside, Riverside
Downtown Riverside, Riverside runs younger than the country, and households here run smaller than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Downtown Riverside, Riverside.
Who works in Downtown Riverside, Riverside, and how
Work in Downtown Riverside, Riverside centers on retail trade and public administration. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 82%
- Work from home 13%
- Transit, walk, or bike 6%
Life in Downtown Riverside, Riverside
Downtown Riverside, Riverside has more restaurants and bars per resident than 85% of neighborhoods and more parkland per resident than 94% of neighborhoods. The coast is about 42 minutes away. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Downtown Riverside, Riverside and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Downtown Riverside, Riverside, month by month
Downtown Riverside, Riverside sees roughly 233 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 97 degrees. January highs sit near 69, with lows near 43. The comfortable stretch runs September through June.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 69° | 56° | 43° |
| April | 80° | 63° | 50° |
| July | 97° | 78° | 64° |
| October | 87° | 70° | 56° |
Flying in and out of Downtown Riverside, Riverside
The nearest airport, San Bernardino International, is about 11 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Ontario International, about 14 miles away.
The best schools in and around Downtown Riverside, Riverside
Schools across Downtown Riverside, Riverside average a C, better than 47% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Pachappa ElementaryD+ · 25% proficient
Top high schools
- Come Back KidsF · 11% proficient
- Riverside County CommunityF · 10% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Downtown Riverside, Riverside school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Downtown Riverside, Riverside measure by measure
Cards are ordered by how much each measure matters to you, so the ones you weighted highest come first. Expand to see every measure. Percentages compare Downtown Riverside, Riverside against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in Downtown Riverside, Riverside
Is Downtown Riverside, Riverside a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Downtown Riverside, Riverside ranks 4,374th of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on the weather, low property taxes, and big-city access, and lowest on air quality and disaster risk. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Downtown Riverside, Riverside expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $591,473. The overall cost of living runs about 17% above the national average. Set against a $77,021 median income, cost of living beats 31% of neighborhoods.
Is Downtown Riverside, Riverside safe?
Downtown Riverside, Riverside is safer than 22% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $735 per resident a year.
Compare Downtown Riverside, Riverside with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Downtown Riverside, Riverside. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Downtown Riverside, Riverside represents the same real quantity as a 60 anywhere else, and the ranking is a weighted average of those absolutes. The map colors come from a national scale calibrated against a population weighted random sample of 5,000 neighborhoods. That absolute scoring is what no other places-to-live ranking does: it puts a single neighborhood, a town, a metro, and a state on one scale, so the same 40 measures answer both which metro to move to and which street inside it to buy on. Read the full methodology.
Downtown Riverside, Riverside detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Downtown Riverside, Riverside: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Downtown Riverside, Riverside: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Downtown Riverside, Riverside: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Downtown Riverside, Riverside: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Downtown Riverside, Riverside detail on related sites:
- CrimeGrade: neighborhood crime rates behind the crime safety score.
- ISPreports.org: provider by provider internet availability and advertised speeds.
- CoverageWatch: the car insurance premiums behind the cheap car insurance score.
Federal and public data:
- U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey: income, home value, rent, vacancy, commute time and mode, educational attainment, home age, age structure, household type, industry, and race.
- NOAA Global Surface Summary of the Day: the daily station record behind the monthly temperatures and the pleasant-day count.
- FAA Passenger Boarding Data: airport size and annual passenger counts.
- Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey: the 30-year fixed rate used in the cost-to-buy estimate.
- FBI Crime Data Explorer: reported offenses behind the tangible crime cost estimate.
- U.S. EPA Air Quality System: five year average air quality index.
- FEMA National Risk Index: expected annual loss from natural hazards.
- CDC PLACES: disease burden, preventable risk, and barriers to care.
- National Center for Education Statistics: school enrollment and assessment inputs behind the school grade.
- FCC National Broadband Map: internet and wireless availability.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: employment and job growth behind the local economy score.
- Religious activity uses a proprietary religious signal measurement.
Your priorities
Move a slider to say how much a measure matters. Zero turns it off.