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Cost of living, pay and housing

33.94° N · 116.69° W · GEOID 0685208

Whitewater

Riverside County, California · part of the Riverside, CA metro

Limited data population under 5,000

CaliforniaWhitewater, CAWhitewaterWhitewater

The short answer

Whitewater is home to 1,181 people. Median household income is $77,898 a year and median rent is $1,190 a month, 18.3% of income (a ratio of two medians, not any one household's burden). Rent pressure is lighter than in most places. The median home is valued at $299,400, about 3.8x annual median household income.

Median gross rent
$1,190
13% below the median place
Median household income
$77,898
3% below the median place
Median home value
$299,400
6% below the median place
Unemployment
18.5%
279% above the median place

Compared with the median of the 6,645 places we track. The bundle was checked 2026-11-14; each measure may refer to an older release.

What stands out about Whitewater

  • Between the 2019 and 2024 surveys, household income rose 14.5% a year while rent rose -0.6%, so pay gained on rent more than in 99% of the 2,476 places under 10,000 people we track. It is the 2nd-lowest of 654 California places.
  • Unemployment averaged 18.5% over the survey period, higher than in 99% of places its size.
  • 8% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, a smaller share than in 98% of places its size.
  • Households average 3.14 people, larger than in 92% of places its size.
  • Half the homes were built after 2002, newer housing than in 92% of places its size.
01

Moving to Whitewater

Riverside County gains about 3.7 residents per 1,000 a year to moves between counties.

Moved in101,381
Moved out93,994
Net+7,387

Where people come from and where they go, top counties

San Bernardino County, CA20,77517,635+3,140
Los Angeles County, CA20,74210,934+9,808
Orange County, CA16,0978,941+7,156
San Diego County, CA12,7088,425+4,283
Maricopa County, AZ1,4192,705−1,286
Clark County, NV1,4412,516−1,075

Within California, other states or abroad

Arrivals
Leavers
Within CaliforniaOther statesAbroad

Income per tax return

Arrivals$76K
Leavers$71K

People on tax returns who moved between counties, from IRS migration data, 2022 to 2023. Figures are for all of Riverside County; flows under 20 returns are not published.

Who moves here
4.7% of residents arrived from another county in the past year, 0.8% from another state. County figure.
Who arrives and who leaves
Households moving into Riverside County report $76,400 a year in income on average; those leaving, $71,200, so newcomers earn more than leavers.
Income you would need
$47,600 a year to rent the median home at the 30% line. From your city
Rent or buy
Median rent is $1,190 a month; owners with a mortgage pay $2,250 a month including taxes and insurance, on a median home of $299,400.
Getting to work
34 minutes each way on average; 18.3% work from home.
If it is close but not quite
Connell, WA matches it on character. Compare the two
Moved from another state1
0.8%
57% below the median place
Net movers per 1,000 people7
3.7
above the median place (median -0.6)
Moved here in the past year1
4.7%
19% below the median place
All 5 moving measures
MeasureWhitewaterAmong 6,645 placesVs median
Moved here in the past year1County figure4.7%19% below
Moved from another state1County figure0.8%57% below
Net movers per 1,000 people7County figure3.7above (median -0.6)
Income of households moving in7County figure$76,4178% above
Income of households moving out7County figure$71,2221% above
02

What it costs to live here

Median year built is 2002, 1% above the median place.

Whitewater18.3%
Typical place20.4%

Share of the median household income that goes to the median rent. Above 30% is the usual stress line.

Income needed to rent
$47,600
a year, at the 30% line
Rent to income
18.3%
10% below the median place
Home price to income
3.8x
1% above the median place

Could you afford it?

The median rent would take
18%
comfortably under the 30% line
Left after rent, in US prices
$62,600
a year
Vs the typical household here
Same
as the median household

Uses the median rent in Whitewater, $1,190 a month, and local prices for everything else (101.8 against a US average of 100). It runs in your browser and stores nothing.

Moving from somewhere else? Work out the salary you would need in Whitewater.

Sponsored · exampleMoving to Whitewater? Compare quotes from licensed movers. No partner is signed yet. Sponsored offers are always labelled and never change the data.
Median year built1
2002
1% above the median place
Homeownership1
81.9%
23% above the median place
Property tax rate1
0.7%
24% below the median place
All 16 cost and housing measures
MeasureWhitewaterAmong 6,645 placesVs median
Median gross rent1$1,19013% below
Rent to income118.3%10% below
Property tax rate10.7%24% below
Home price to income13.8x1% above
Prices vs US average2Metro figure106.46% above
Fair market rent, 2 bedrooms3County figure$2,10330% above
HUD area median income4County figure$106,5001% below
Property tax paid (median)1$2,07836% below
Median home value1$299,4006% below
Home prices, 1-year change5County figure1.3%59% below
Home prices, 5-year change5County figure54.3%5% above
Homeownership181.9%23% above
Renters paying 30%+1County figure59.4%17% above
Owner costs with a mortgage1$2,25020% above
Vacant homes1County figure10.8%53% above
Median year built120021% above
03

Work and pay

Commutes by transit is 0.0%, below the median place (median 0.8%).

Commutes by transit1
0.0%
below the median place (median 0.8%)
Unemployment1
18.5%
279% above the median place
Income per person1
$25,437
37% below the median place

More on work and pay, against the typical place

Mean commute34 min +36%
Works from home18.3% +47%
Median household income$77,898 −3%
All 10 work and pay measures
MeasureWhitewaterAmong 6,645 placesVs median
Median household income1$77,8983% below
Income per person1$25,43737% below
Unemployment118.5%279% above
Average annual pay6County figure$61,1007% below
Pay growth, 1 year6County figure2.3%38% below
Jobs6County figure846,070above (median 150,665)
Poverty rate1County figure10.6%1% below
Mean commute134 min36% above
Works from home118.3%47% above
Commutes by transit10.0%below (median 0.8%)
04

Who lives here

Bachelor's or higher is 7.9%, 75% below the median place.

Bachelor's or higher1
7.9%
75% below the median place
Household size1
3.1
26% above the median place
High school or higher1
82.7%
10% below the median place

More about who lives here, against the typical place

Median age41.0 +5%
Born abroad11.7% +32%
Homes with broadband93.1% +1%
No health insurance7.0% +9%
All 8 people measures
MeasureWhitewaterAmong 6,645 placesVs median
Population11,1816646th largest
Median age141.05% above
Bachelor's or higher17.9%75% below
High school or higher182.7%10% below
Household size13.126% above
Born abroad111.7%32% above
No health insurance17.0%9% above
Homes with broadband193.1%1% above
05

Life in Whitewater

104 sites are on the National Register of Historic Places, 4 of them National Historic Landmarks.

Out the door, against the typical place

Parks per 10k residents0.0 −100%
Playgrounds per 10k0.0 −100%
Grocery stores per 10k0.0 −100%
Restaurants, cafes and bars per 10k0.0 −100%
Libraries per 10k0.0 −100%
Named paths and bike trails4 km 2.1×
Bus and rail stops per sq mi0.0 −100%

Mapped by volunteers in OpenStreetMap inside the city limits (Census boundaries), so coverage is fuller in some places than others. Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL.

Businesses per 10,000 residents (county figures)

Restaurants and bars17.4 −16%
Shops22.7 −25%
Arts, recreation and fitness3.3 −20%
Doctors' offices and clinics17.4 −14%
Child care centers1.4 −39%

Counts businesses with paid staff, so small owner-run shops are not included.

Public school students11
424,406
above the median place (median 4,897)
Public schools11
533
above the median place (median 9)
Students per teacher11
23.0
49% above the median place
All 16 schools and local life measures
MeasureWhitewaterAmong 6,645 placesVs median
Public schools11County figure533above (median 9)
Public school students11County figure424,406above (median 4,897)
Students per teacher11County figure23.049% above
Restaurants and bars per 10k8County figure17.416% below
Shops per 10k8County figure22.725% below
Arts, recreation and fitness per 10k8County figure3.320% below
Doctors' offices and clinics per 10k8County figure17.414% below
Child care centers per 10k8County figure1.439% below
Parks per 10k90.0below (median 10.2)
Playgrounds per 10k90.0below (median 9.4)
Grocery stores per 10k90.0below (median 2.1)
Restaurants, cafes and bars per 10k90.0below (median 11.2)
Libraries per 10k90.0below (median 0.9)
Named paths and bike trails94.3115% above
Transit stops per sq mi90.0below (median 0.2)
National Register listings10County figure104above (median 13)
06

Safety, weather and risk

Median air quality index is 80, 86% above the median place.

No crime figure yet. Either the city police department did not report to the FBI for the latest year, or our monthly fetch has not reached Whitewater. Larger places are fetched first.

Median air quality index14
80
86% above the median place
Good air days14
10.7%
84% below the median place
Annual precipitation12
8.0 in
82% below the median place
All 11 weather and risk measures
MeasureWhitewaterAmong 6,645 placesVs median
July average high12County figure101°F16% above
January average low12County figure42°F67% above
Average temperature12County figure69°F25% above
Annual precipitation12County figure8.0 in82% below
Natural hazard risk13County figure99.98% above
Hurricane risk13County figure12.083% below
Tornado risk13County figure86.76% above
Wildfire risk13County figure100.063% above
Heat wave risk13County figure98.59% above
Median air quality index14County figure8086% above
Good air days14County figure10.7%84% below
08

Whitewater in 2030: where the trends point

If recent trends hold, the median rent will take about 17% of the median income in 2030, down from 18% now.

Citytistics projections to 2030: each figure's own trend, blended with the typical trend across the places we rate, eased toward long-run US growth and carried forward from the latest release. The range is where 80% of places landed when we tested the same method on past releases.

MeasureLatest2030 projectionLikely rangeAvg. per year
Median rent$1,190/mo (2024)$1,470/mo$1,210 to $1,790/mo+3.6%
Median household income$77,898 (2024)$103,500$87,500 to $122,500+4.9%
Median home value$299,400 (2024)$438,000$318,000 to $604,000+6.6%

The median home would be worth 4.2 years of the median income in 2030, against 3.8 now.

A projection of recent trends, not a prediction of the economy or advice to buy or sell. How we project.

09

Places like Whitewater

The closest matches on income, rent, home value, education and age, and the places nearby.

PlaceRentIncome
Connell, WA$1,011$77,721Compare
Sheridan, OR$1,220$70,785Compare
Kelso, WA$1,220$66,751Compare
Youngtown, AZ$1,157$68,321Compare
Youngtown, AZKelso, WASheridan, ORConnell, WAWhitewater, CAWhitewaterConnellSheridanKelsoYoungtownWhitewaterConnellKelsoYoungtown

Common questions

Is Whitewater a good place to live?

It depends on what you need, so here is what the numbers say. Between the 2019 and 2024 surveys, household income rose 14.5% a year while rent rose -0.6%, so pay gained on rent more than in 99% of the 2,476 places under 10,000 people we track. It is the 2nd-lowest of 654 California places. Unemployment averaged 18.5% over the survey period, higher than in 99% of places its size. See how it ranks with your own weights.

Is Whitewater expensive to live in?

The median rent takes 18.3% of the median household income, against 20.4% in the typical place we track. Housing is a lighter load here than usual. The median home is valued at $299,400.

What salary do you need to live in Whitewater?

To rent the median home without spending more than 30% of income on rent, a household needs about $47,600 a year. Work it out from your current city.

What places are similar to Whitewater?

On income, rent, home value, education and age, the closest matches are Connell, WA, Sheridan, OR, Kelso, WA and Youngtown, AZ.

Sources and methods

The small numbers beside each measure point here. Every dataset is public; links go to the publisher.

  1. American Community Survey 5-year estimates · US Census Bureau · 2020 to 2024 estimatesTables B01002, B01003, B05002, B07003, B08013, B08301, B15003, B17001, B19013, B19301, B23025, B25002, B25003, B25010, B25035, B25064, B25070, B25077, B25088, B25103, B28002, S2701
  2. Regional Price Parities · US Bureau of Economic Analysis · Latest release, retrieved 2026-11-14
  3. Fair Market Rents · US Department of Housing and Urban Development · Fiscal year 2027
  4. Income Limits · US Department of Housing and Urban Development · Fiscal year 2026
  5. House Price Index · Federal Housing Finance Agency · Latest release, retrieved 2026-11-14
  6. Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages · US Bureau of Labor Statistics · 2025 annual averages
  7. SOI Tax Stats, county-to-county migration · Internal Revenue Service · Tax years 2022 to 2023Counts tax returns and the people on them; flows under 20 returns are suppressed.
  8. County Business Patterns · US Census Bureau · 2023 data
  9. OpenStreetMap · © OpenStreetMap contributors, available under the Open Database License (ODbL) · Map data as of 2026-11
  10. National Register of Historic Places · National Park Service · Listings through 2026-05-22
  11. Common Core of Data · National Center for Education Statistics · 2024 release
  12. 1991-2020 climate normals · NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information · Series updated 2026-11-05Averages for 1991 to 2020 computed from NOAA's county climate series (nClimDiv).nClimDiv county series
  13. National Risk Index · Federal Emergency Management Agency · Latest release, retrieved 2026-11-14NRI data and maps
  14. Air Quality System, annual AQI by county · US Environmental Protection Agency · 2025 dataAirData download files

Derived by Citytistics from the tables above: rent to income (B25064, B19013); property tax rate (B25103, B25077); home price to income (B25077, B19013).

What stands out compares Whitewater with places of a similar size, using only figures measured for Whitewater itself; county and metro figures never count. Survey figures are estimates with margins of error. Formulas and definitions: methodology. API: /api/v1/places/whitewater-california

Citytistics. “Whitewater, California.” Data as of 2026-11-14. https://www.citytistics.com/city/whitewater-california/

This product uses the Census Bureau Data API but is not endorsed or certified by the Census Bureau.