Moving to
French Valley.

All French Valley data Compare French Valley

45,269people live here $148,520median household income▲ 84% above US $3,119median rent per month▲ 121% above US $679,800median home value▲ 104% above US

French Valley is an unincorporated community in Riverside County, CA. It has no city government: the county runs it, and the Census counts it as its own place.

What it's like to live in French Valley

French Valley is an unincorporated community in California with household incomes running above the national average. Those factors carry real weight for anyone weighing where to move next.

The tradeoffs are worth naming plainly. French Valley deals with rent well above the national average, home prices well above the national average, county unemployment above the national average, and long average commutes.

The good

Higher-than-average incomes

The not so good

Rent well above the national average
High home prices
Above-average unemployment in the county
Long commutes
Air quality concerns
High student-teacher ratio

How French Valley compares

Median household income

French Valley$148,520

California avg$99,122

US$80,734

Median rent (per month)

French Valley$3,119

California avg$2,036

US$1,413

Median home value

French Valley$679,800

California avg$734,700

US$332,700

What it takes to move to French Valley

Based on French Valley's median rent, home value and household income

To rent

$6,238

up front: first month plus a typical one-month deposit

Income to keep rent under 30%: $124,760 a year
41% of French Valley renters spend 30% or more of their income on rent

To buy

$135,960

a 20% down payment on the median home

With 10% down: $67,980
Homes cost 4.6× the typical local household income (US: 4.1×)

Moving costs, closing costs and taxes not included.

The details

Cost of living▲ 121% above US

$3,119/mo median rent

Rent is expensive here, at $3,119 a month median and well above the national average. This is the kind of city where housing costs deserve serious budgeting before committing to a move. Home prices are steep, with a median around $679,800. Renting first to get a feel for the city before buying is often the more practical route.

Median home value $679,800 · 41% of renters cost-burdened

Job market

5.6% county unemployment

Unemployment in Riverside County is 5.6%, somewhat above the national average of 4.3%. Lining up work before the move is the safer route. That's the county-wide rate; BLS doesn't measure a place this size on its own.

Riverside County (county-wide)

Safety

228 violent crimes per 100k, whole jurisdiction

French Valley doesn't have its own police department, so there's no crime rate for it alone. The figures shown are for the Riverside County Sheriff's Office jurisdiction as a whole, which runs below the national average for violent crime and covers many communities. Individual neighborhoods can differ a lot from that overall rate.

Property crime 1215/100k · Policed by Riverside County Sheriff's Office (county-wide rate) · 2025 data

Getting around▲ 59% above US

41 min average commute

Commutes run long, averaging 41.4 minutes, and that's just the average, meaning a lot of people are doing significantly more. This isn't a city where living far from the office is a comfortable bet. 8 in 10 workers drive to work; 19% work from home.

How workers get to work

Drive alone

69%

Work from home

19%

Carpool

10%

Walk

0.8%

Other

0.6%

Public transit

0.2%

Climate

Summers are warm, with highs around 86°F, and winters are mild, with lows rarely dropping below 47°F. It's a dry climate with limited rainfall.

Average month

High °FLow °FPrecip (in)

30-year averages, 1991–2020

Education & workforceNear US average

38% bachelor's degree or higher

Education levels run about average, with 38% college-educated. It's a mix of white-collar and blue-collar work, which can be an asset or a limitation depending on the field.

Schools

8 public schools inside the boundary

There are 8 public schools inside the boundary. The student-to-teacher ratio is 24:1, above the national average of 16:1.

Parks & recreation

The nearest national park or historic site is Juan Bautista de Anza National Historic Trail (20 miles away). There are 3 national parks and sites within a day's drive.

Bottom line

French Valley's strongest point is household incomes running above the national average; the main tradeoffs are rent well above the national average and home prices well above the national average. A year of median rent ($3,119/mo) equals 25% of the median household income here, more than the 21% typical nationwide. It tends to suit remote workers (19% of workers here already work from home). It may be a harder fit for renters on a tight budget, anyone moving without a job lined up, and people who dread long commutes.

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