Mead 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 Mead Valley

Mead Valley is an unincorporated community in California. The numbers below lay out what daily life there actually looks like.

The tradeoffs are worth naming plainly. Mead Valley deals with rent well above the national average, home prices well above the national average, county unemployment above the national average, and commute times longer than most cities.

The not so good

  • Rent well above the national average
  • High home prices
  • Above-average unemployment in the county
  • Above-average commute times
  • Air quality concerns
  • Low college degree attainment

How Mead Valley compares

Median household income

Mead Valley$86,795
California avg$99,122
US$80,734

Median rent (per month)

Mead Valley$1,926
California avg$2,036
US$1,413

Median home value

Mead Valley$446,200
California avg$734,700
US$332,700

What it takes to move to Mead Valley

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

To rent

$3,852

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

  • Income to keep rent under 30%: $77,040 a year
  • 53% of Mead Valley renters spend 30% or more of their income on rent

To buy

$89,240

a 20% down payment on the median home

  • With 10% down: $44,620
  • Homes cost 5.1× the typical local household income (US: 4.1×)

Moving costs, closing costs and taxes not included.

The details

Cost of living▲ 36% above US

$1,926/mo median rent

Rent is expensive here, at $1,926 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 run above average, with a median around $446,200. Buyers should expect to stretch their budget here.

Median home value $446,200 · 53% 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

Mead 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▲ 23% above US

32 min average commute

Traffic is a real factor here. The 32.1 minute average means plenty of commuters are pushing 45 to 60 minutes on a bad day. Proximity to work matters more here than it might elsewhere. 9 in 10 workers drive to work; 9% work from home.

How workers get to work

Drive alone
78%
Carpool
11%
Work from home
9.0%
Other
1.4%
Public transit
1.0%
Walk
0.1%

Climate

Summers are hot and humid, with highs regularly hitting 92°F, and winters are chilly but manageable, with lows around 37°F. It's a dry climate with limited rainfall.

Average month

High °FLow °FPrecip (in)
20°40°60°80°100°2.5"Jan: 2.05" precipitationFeb: 2.43" precipitationMar: 1.51" precipitationApr: 0.76" precipitationMay: 0.27" precipitationJun: 0.07" precipitationJul: 0.13" precipitationAug: 0.36" precipitationSep: 0.16" precipitationOct: 0.47" precipitationNov: 0.67" precipitationDec: 1.77" precipitationJJan: high 66°F, low 37°FFFeb: high 66°F, low 38°FMMar: high 71°F, low 40°FAApr: high 74°F, low 44°FMMay: high 80°F, low 51°FJJun: high 87°F, low 56°FJJul: high 94°F, low 62°F95°AAug: high 95°F, low 62°FSSep: high 92°F, low 59°FOOct: high 82°F, low 49°FNNov: high 72°F, low 41°F37°DDec: high 65°F, low 37°F

30-year averages, 1991–2020

Education & workforce▼ 71% below US

11% bachelor's degree or higher

This is a working-class city, and college degree rates reflect that. Trades, manufacturing, and service industries tend to dominate the local economy, which is a strength for some fields and a real constraint for others.

Schools

5 public schools inside the boundary

There are 5 public schools inside the boundary. The student-to-teacher ratio is 22:1, above the national average of 16:1.

Parks & recreation

The nearest national park or historic site is Juan Bautista de Anza National Historic Trail (5 miles away). There are 4 national parks and sites within a day's drive.

Bottom line

Nothing in Mead Valley's numbers stands out as a clear strength, and the main tradeoffs are rent well above the national average and home prices well above the national average. A year of median rent ($1,926/mo) equals 27% of the median household income here, more than the 21% typical nationwide. 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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