Lancaster vs Riverside
The short version
- Riverside is cheaper overall: prices in its metro run 6% lower than in the Lancaster area (BEA 2024).
- The median home costs $446,600 in Lancaster and $584,800 in Riverside.
- Households earn more in Riverside ($91,045 vs $81,511 median).
- Riverside has the warmer winter: January highs of 68°F vs 59°F.
- Riverside is growing faster: +2.4% since 2020 vs -2%.
Side by side
| Lancaster, CA | Riverside, CA | |
|---|---|---|
| People | ||
| Population (2025) | 170,084 | 323,057 |
| Growth since 2020 | -2% | +2.4% |
| People per square mile | 1,804 | 3,981 |
| Median age | 34.5 | 33.6 |
| Bachelor's degree or higher | 20% | 26% |
| Money and housing | ||
| Median household income | $81,511 | $91,045 |
| Median home value | $446,600 | $584,800 |
| Home value to income | 5.5× | 6.4× |
| Median rent (with utilities) | $1,764 | $1,914 |
| Metro price level (US = 100) | 113.6 | 106.4 |
| Housing price level (US = 100) | 170.4 | 129.3 |
| $75,000 elsewhere equals | $85,200 | $79,800 |
| Homeowners | 60% | 57% |
| Top state income tax | 13.3% | 13.3% |
| Combined sales tax | 9.03% | 9.03% |
| Work and commute | ||
| Average commute (minutes) | 30.8 | 31.3 |
| Work from home | 10% | 11% |
| Take public transit | 1% | 1% |
| Unemployment (2020-24 avg) | 7.5% | 6.3% |
| Poverty rate | 15.6% | 12.2% |
| Weather | ||
| January high / low | 59° / 31° | 68° / 44° |
| July high / low | 98° / 67° | 93° / 64° |
| Precipitation per year | 7 in | 9 in |
| Snowfall per year | 0 in | 0 in |
| Days 90°F or hotter | 109 | 100 |
| Nights below freezing | 68 | 4 |
| Comfortable months | 3 | 8 |
| Risks, air and home prices | ||
| Natural hazard risk (FEMA, county) | Very High | Very High |
| FEMA risk score (lower is safer) | 100.0 | 99.9 |
| Good air days, 2025 | 11% | 7% |
| Home prices, past year | +1.2% | +0.8% |
| Home prices, past 5 years | +31.9% | +35.9% |
Highlighted cells are the better value where "better" is clear (lower prices, higher income, shorter commutes). Sources: Census Bureau 2025 estimates and ACS 2020-2024, BEA 2024, NOAA 1991-2020, Tax Foundation 2026.
Weather, month by month
Most comfortable months: Lancaster: April to May and October. Riverside: October to May.
Full monthly tables: Lancaster weather by month and Riverside weather by month.
What $75,000 is worth
A $75,000 salary in an average-priced US city buys about the same as $85,200 in Lancaster and $79,800 in Riverside. Moving from Lancaster to Riverside, you would need about $70,300 to match a $75,000 salary.
Moving between Lancaster and Riverside
IRS county-to-county migration, 2022 to 2023 tax years, for the counties that contain each city. See where else people move from Lancaster and Riverside.
Which would you pick?
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