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Place dossier plate
SheetCA-ONTARIO-CA · Ontario, CA 178,347 pop · income 64th pct
Instrument codes from this place’s ACS population and household income, BEA state COL, FBI safety, national income percentile, photo-finish peer city, home-value band, and matched Census-tract book - not a moving recommendation.
Income neighbourhood around Ontario
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Ontario on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Chattanooga · lowest
61,028
Chattanooga · lowest
61,028 median HH income
47.2% of the leader · rank #1
Ontario · this city
82,806
Ontario · this city
82,806 median HH income
64.0% of the leader · rank #2
Winnebago · near
82,813
Winnebago · near
82,813 median HH income
64.0% of the leader · rank #3
Schoolcraft · near
82,813
Schoolcraft · near
82,813 median HH income
64.0% of the leader · rank #4
Roberdel · near
82,813
Roberdel · near
82,813 median HH income
64.0% of the leader · rank #5
Woodville · near
82,813
Woodville · near
82,813 median HH income
64.0% of the leader · rank #6
Cary · highest
129,399
Cary · highest
129,399 median HH income
100.0% of the leader · rank #7
What this shows Neighbourhood peers only - not a full nationwide city board. Open a near peer when the gap is small; open the poles when the spread is wide.
Compare beyond this state
Nationwide peers by population, income, and FBI crime rate
Out-of-state nearest neighbors for Ontario on ACS population and median household income
, plus FBI UCR reporting rate when the extract covers this place. Link sets are deduped so each column is a distinct comparison path, not a forecast that peers share a labor market or climate.
Similar population
Nearest out-of-state cities by ACS population. This city: 178,347.
Agency-reported UCR totals per 100,000 population, not a neighborhood safety grade or a prediction of personal risk.
Ontario - the verdict
Measured against every US city with at least 1,000 residents, Ontario lands in the 64th percentile for household income and the 30th percentile for safety. Source: Census ACS + FBI UCR.
64th
percentile, household income
88th
percentile, home value
88th
percentile, median rent
30th
percentile, safety
📝 How we sourced this
Population, income, and housing-cost figures come from the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates (B-series tables). Crime data uses FBI UCR; climate uses NOAA Climate Normals; school counts come from NCES Common Core of Data; permits use the Census Building Permits Survey (BPS). See our methodology page for the full ETL pipeline and OMB / FIPS join keys.
Data Snapshot: Ontario, CA
California's Ontario is a mid-sized U.S. city, with 178,347 residents per the latest Census Bureau ACS figures. Ontario households earn a median of $82,806 annually, above the median for U.S. cities on this measure, with a poverty rate of 10.7%. Ontario's housing stock carries a median value of $568,000, and the median resident age is 33.1 years. 20.7% of adults here have a bachelor's degree or higher; 62.3% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
The Census Building Permit Survey recorded 639 residential units authorized here in 2024 (Construction Slowdown), down 55% from five years earlier. Crime here tracks close to the national norm: FBI UCR reporting places total crime at 2089.7 incidents per 100,000 residents, near the national average (voluntary agency reporting, reflects reporting activity, not a definitive danger score). NOAA puts Ontario's yearly average temperature at 66.8°F with 11.6 inches of precipitation per year.
California carries a cost-of-living premium: BEA Regional Price Parities 2024 puts California at 110.7 on a 100-equals-national-average scale (Well Above Average). HUD Fair Market Rent for a typical two-bedroom in this state is $2,053 per month. Statewide, average monthly utility bills in California run around $275, per EIA 2023 residential energy data. FEMA's National Risk Index rates natural-hazard exposure at 88.7 out of 100 (Very High).
A decision-led reading path
Useful questions to ask of Ontario's data
How this reading path is ordered
This is not a composite city score. It is a city-specific route through the available public records, ordered for this profile so the page starts with questions the joined data can actually answer. The route here runs from climate and hazard context to housing and income to reported crime to work and mobility to comparison shortlist to schools and households to population change; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Ontario, city-specific coverage includes local building permits, FBI reported-crime rates, commute-mode shares, matched public-school count, annual population history.
No matched row is reported here for within-city Census tract profiles; the page leaves those layers out instead of substituting a statewide or national value.
1. Climate and hazard context
What physical conditions frame life in Ontario?
The two sources should not be blended into one comfort or safety score. Use the climate values for baseline conditions and the risk index as a prompt to inspect specific hazards, insurance, and local emergency guidance for a particular address.
NOAA normals put the annual mean temperature at 66.8°F, with 11.6 inches of precipitation. FEMA's state-averaged National Risk Index score for California is 88.7 out of 100. Climate normals describe long-run weather; the FEMA score on PlainCities is a state average of county NRI inputs and combines hazards, exposure, vulnerability, and resilience.
How far does income reach against housing in Ontario?
This is a citywide price-to-income reference, not a mortgage-affordability test; it does not include interest rates, taxes, insurance, household size, or an individual buyer's down payment. Housing value is high relative to the citywide income median. That flags a question for comparison, not a verdict: tenure, household composition, financing costs, and the age of the ACS estimate can all change what a resident actually pays.
The home-value-to-income reference is comparatively stretched: the ACS median home value is 6.9 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 10.7%, which keeps the citywide median from describing every household.
What can the FBI record say about safety in Ontario?
The joined FBI UCR record reports 2089.7 violent and property crimes per 100,000 residents, near the 2280.5 national reference used here. The difference is 8% lower in arithmetic terms, but agency participation is voluntary and reporting completeness varies.
Treat this as a reporting-rate comparison, not a prediction of personal risk or a neighborhood-level safety grade. Tourism, daytime population, reporting practices, and variation inside the city are not adjusted away. The state rank and same-state peer table are the narrower comparisons available on this page.
Which cities make useful reference points for Ontario?
Use the in-state set to hold state policy and broad price conditions more nearly constant. Use the nationwide size set to ask whether cities with a similar resident count produce different housing, income, or commute outcomes. The income set is a third lens, deliberately separate from population matching. The nationwide peer panel below adds a fourth FBI UCR reporting-rate lens, not personal risk.
Within California, the closest population matches are Elk Grove (177,221 residents, $122,229 income); Santa Rosa (177,216 residents, $97,410 income); Rancho Cucamonga (174,693 residents, $109,511 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Eugene, OR (177,520 residents); Aurora, IL (179,867 residents); Cary, NC (176,686 residents). A third, income-matched reference set of 6 out-of-state cities sits in the income neighbourhood chart near the Place Dossier plate. These are mechanical peer sets, not claims that the places share a labor market, climate, culture, or metro context.
These joined records add useful context, but they do not need another full-size panel. Each remains a separate measure with its own geography and source boundary.
Work and mobility
What does the journey to work look like in Ontario?
Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 77.9%. A reliable mean commute time is not available for this row, so the mode shares carry the comparison.
Mode share answers how workers usually travel; it does not measure congestion, reliability, distance to a particular job, or the quality of transit service. No single mode completely explains the work trip here. The mix is more useful than a one-number commute grade, especially when comparing places where transit, walking, and remote work divide the non-driving share differently.
Drive alone
77.9%
Work from home
7.3%
Public transit
1.1%
City-level Census ACS commuting estimates covering 84,107 workers age 16+.
The city has a broader matched school footprint, but count alone does not describe performance, capacity, program availability, or attendance boundaries. This profile deliberately avoids converting it into an unsupported family-friendliness score.
The NCES join finds 38 public schools within the city match. 20.7% of adults age 25+ hold a bachelor's degree or higher in the ACS estimate. These measures answer different questions: the school count describes local institutions, while adult attainment describes residents and cannot be used as a school-quality rating.
Poverty estimate
10.7%
Bachelor's degree+
20.7%
Matched public schools
38
NCES Common Core of Data school locations plus Census ACS resident characteristics.
Census PEP estimates show the population grew by +11,314 residents from 2020 to 2025, a +6.4% change. Separately, Census BPS recorded 639 housing units authorized in 2024. PEP and ACS are different Census series, so the trend is kept separate from the headline ACS population.
Recent estimates point upward. Growth can increase housing demand and service needs, but the permit record must move in the same direction before calling it a supply response; the two series measure different things.
2020 estimate
175,699
2025 estimate
187,013
Period change
+6.4%
Census Population Estimates Program, 2020–2025; permit context uses Census BPS.
Above median income · poverty 10.7% (Above-median poverty)
Cost of Living Index (state)
110.7 (US=100)
Highest-decile cost · BEA RPP 2024, California average
F
City profile score · Ontario, CA
37/100
5 published dimensions · ACS/FBI 2023
Comparative score against U.S. cities with population of 1,000 or more on Census ACS medians
(income, poverty, bachelor's share, cost of living) and FBI UCR violent-crime rates when
published. Higher means a stronger standing on those published figures, not a livability
rating, not a recommendation to move, buy, or pick a "best" city. Missing inputs drop out
and redistribute weight.
How it is calculated.
Household income C+
$82,806
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
Poverty rate F
10.7%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Violent crime F
272 /100k
FBI UCR violent offenses per 100,000 residents; lower is stronger on this axis.
Bachelor's+ share F
20.7%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Cost of living F
110.7 index
BEA state Regional Price Parities index (100 ≈ national average); lower is stronger on this axis. Same value for every city in the state.
Ontario profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Household income: 62/100 (C+) · $82,806
Poverty rate: 37/100 (F) · 10.7%
Violent crime: 37/100 (F) · 272 /100k
Bachelor's+ share: 36/100 (F) · 20.7%
Cost of living: 6/100 (F) · 110.7 index
Where Ontario sits on home value vs crime among peer cities
Ontario's median home value and FBI crime rate plotted with similar-size and
same-state peers (padded with large cities when the peer set is thin). The second
read: pricey does not always mean safer, check which quadrant this city lands in.
Census ACS median home value vs FBI UCR crime rate - Ontario highlighted among 12 peers.Read the chart values
Ontario, CA (this city): home $568,000, crime 2,090/100k
Eugene, OR : home $435,400, crime 3,574/100k
Aurora, IL : home $260,400, crime 1,518/100k
Cary, NC : home $525,200, crime 1,388/100k
Salem, OR : home $382,400, crime 3,336/100k
Chattanooga, TN : home $259,200, crime 4,766/100k
Elk Grove, CA : home $603,400, crime 1,422/100k
Santa Rosa, CA : home $685,000, crime 1,663/100k
Rancho Cucamonga, CA : home $694,400, crime 2,105/100k
Oceanside, CA : home $702,000, crime 2,131/100k
Garden Grove, CA : home $765,500, crime 2,035/100k
Lancaster, CA : home $409,100, crime 2,755/100k
How does Ontario compare to other US cities?
Where Ontario sits among all US cities (population 1,000+) on each measure, computed live from Census and FBI data.
Household income64% higher than other cities
Home value88% pricier than other cities
Median rent88% pricier than other cities
Safety30% safer than other cities
"Safer than" reflects total crime rate from FBI UCR; the others use Census ACS estimates.
Zoom in to just California and the picture shifts: Ontario ranks #253 of 441 California cities by lowest crime rate, a different read than the national percentile above.
How we calculate these percentiles & ranks
Each percentile compares Ontario against every qualifying US city; each in-state rank narrows that to California only. Full formula and direction notes: methodology.
California-relative analysis
Median Gross Rent places Ontario near the bottom of California's cities
Among the 1,458 California cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Ontario ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Ontario only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#736 of 1,338
45th percentile in California
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 1,458
0th percentile in California
Median Home Value
#623 of 1,343
54th percentile in California
Poverty Rate
#452 of 1,450
68th percentile in California
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#881 of 1,458
40th percentile in California
How in-state ranks are ordered
Ranked by raw value (highest first); a higher rank is not automatically "better" for every measure, see each metric's own context above. This is a comparison within California only, not a livability score. See the methodology for the source and calculation.
Gauge source note
64th percentile nationally for median household income · 30th percentile for safety (lower crime rate). Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
Ontario's profile vs. every US city
Income, affordability, and safety percentile
Ontario's percentile rank on 3 favorable-direction measures (income, affordability, safety) vs. every tracked US city -- higher on every axis is more favorable. Not a composite quality score, just the arithmetic mean of the axes shown.
How Ontario's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$568,00012th percentilemore affordable than 12% of 15,600 US cities
Show national distribution
Each bar is a $25K-wide band; taller bars hold more US cities. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2023
Ontario's home-value-to-income ratio: 6.9×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
pressured
> 5.0×
National rank
#14,610 of 15,516
More affordable than 6% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#642 of 750
Mid-size cities (50,000–199,999)
At 6.9×, Ontario sits in the pressured band:
national rank #14,610 of 15,516 and #642 of 750mid-size cities (50,000–199,999).
Housing value is high relative to the citywide income median, a comparison flag, not a verdict on any household.
How this ratio is calculated
Ratio = Census ACS 2023 median home value ÷ median household income for cities with both fields and population ≥ 1,000.
Rank 1 = lowest ratio (most compact). Bands match the fleet affordability thresholds used on guides (<3.0 / 3.0–5.0 / >5.0).
This is not a mortgage payment estimate and does not include rates, taxes, insurance, or down payment.
Income distribution context
$82,806Ontario, CA median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Ontario, CA median household income (Census ACS 5-year) with U.S. national quintile shares for context. Diagonal = equality; the curve is national, not computed for Ontario, CA.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)20.7%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)10.7%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)62.3%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
178,347
Median Income
$82,806
Median Home Value
$568,000
Median Age
33.1
Poverty Rate
10.7%
Labor force participation
62.3%
Bachelor's Degree+
20.7%
Safety & Crime
Total Crime Rate
2089.7
per 100,000 residents
Violent Crime
272.2
per 100,000 residents
Property Crime
1817.5
per 100,000 residents
Crime reporting caveat
Reflects incidents reported to the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting program — agency participation is voluntary and reporting completeness varies by jurisdiction and year, so this reflects reporting activity, not a definitive danger score. Not adjusted for tourism, commuter, or daytime population.
Climate
Avg Temperature
66.8°F
Annual Precipitation
11.6"
Annual Snowfall
N/A
Schools
Total Schools
38
Public schools in this city
Population Change
PEP vintage
Annual U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP) estimates, 2020–2025
Ontario's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
175,699 residents
2021
178,221 residents
2022
180,892 residents
2023
183,328 residents
2024
185,669 residents
2025
187,013 residents
Housing Supply
BPS source
Census Bureau Building Permits Survey (BPS) - annual residential permits authorized
📉 Construction Slowdown
Total Permits (2024)
639
housing units authorized
Single-Family
306
detached homes
Multifamily
333
apartments & condos
Supply Intensity
3.6
permits per 1,000 residents
5-Year Permit Trend (2019–2024)
Year
Total
Single-Family
Multifamily
Est. Value
2019
1,431
1,167
264
$326.1M
2020
739
645
94
$147.6M
2021
882
738
144
$152.0M
2022
1,071
746
325
$182.2M
2023
2,796
601
2,195
$364.3M
2024
639
306
333
$99.5M
Permit volume decreased 55% from 2019 to 2024.
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Drive Alone
77.9%
Carpool
11.7%
Public Transit
1.1%
Walk
1.0%
Work from Home
7.3%
Other
1.0%
Based on 84,107 workers 16 and over.
Monthly Utility Costs
California statewide monthly utility average (EIA 2023): $275
EIA 2023 residential energy data puts average monthly utilities across California at $275 (electricity about $150 , water and sewer about $70 ).
These are California statewide averages, not a meter reading for Ontario. Actual bills vary by home size, usage, and local rates. Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023.
Living Costs & Risk
California's BEA cost-of-living index is 110.7 (Well Above Average; US average = 100, RPP 2024). HUD Fair Market Rent for a typical two-bedroom in the county around Ontario is $2,053/mo. FEMA's National Risk Index, averaged to California statewide on PlainCities, rates natural-hazard exposure at 88.7 / 100 (Very High).
Cost/risk geography note
Cost of living is a California statewide BEA average; rent is a county-level HUD Fair Market Rent for the county Ontario sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Ontario compares to similar-size California cities
Same-state peer method
Closest same-state population matches, not geographic neighbors. Population + median household income come from Census Bureau ACS 5-year B01001 and B19013.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year 2023, FBI UCR, NOAA Climate Normals, NCES CCD, Census BPS 2024, Census ACS B08301/B08136, U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023, BEA Regional Price Parities 2024, HUD Fair Market Rents 2026, FEMA National Risk Index.