Rowland Heights is an unincorporated community in Los Angeles 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 Rowland Heights

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

The tradeoffs are worth naming plainly. Rowland Heights 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
  • Shrinking population

How Rowland Heights compares

Median household income

Rowland Heights$85,617
California avg$99,122
US$80,734

Median rent (per month)

Rowland Heights$1,967
California avg$2,036
US$1,413

Median home value

Rowland Heights$851,300
California avg$734,700
US$332,700

What it takes to move to Rowland Heights

Based on Rowland Heights's median rent, home value and household income

To rent

$3,934

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

  • Income to keep rent under 30%: $78,680 a year
  • 55% of Rowland Heights renters spend 30% or more of their income on rent

To buy

$170,260

a 20% down payment on the median home

  • With 10% down: $85,130
  • Homes cost 9.9× the typical local household income (US: 4.1×)

Moving costs, closing costs and taxes not included.

The details

Cost of living▲ 39% above US

$1,967/mo median rent

Rent is expensive here, at $1,967 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 $851,300. Renting first to get a feel for the city before buying is often the more practical route.

Median home value $851,300 · 55% of renters cost-burdened

Job market

5.7% county unemployment

Unemployment in Los Angeles County is 5.7%, 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.

Los Angeles County (county-wide)

Safety

632 violent crimes per 100k, whole jurisdiction

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

Property crime 1648/100k · Policed by Los Angeles County Sheriff's Office (county-wide rate) · 2025 data

Getting around▲ 27% above US

33 min average commute

Traffic is a real factor here. The 32.9 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. 8 in 10 workers drive to work; 14% work from home.

How workers get to work

Drive alone
69%
Work from home
14%
Carpool
13%
Public transit
1.7%
Other
1.2%
Walk
0.9%

Climate

Summers are warm, with highs around 86°F, and winters are mild, with lows rarely dropping below 49°F. It's a dry climate with limited rainfall.

Average month

High °FLow °FPrecip (in)
40°50°60°70°80°90°100°3.5"Jan: 3.16" precipitationFeb: 3.05" precipitationMar: 1.80" precipitationApr: 0.70" precipitationMay: 0.41" precipitationJun: 0.11" precipitationJul: 0.11" precipitationAug: 0.01" precipitationSep: 0.15" precipitationOct: 0.62" precipitationNov: 1.01" precipitationDec: 2.39" precipitationJJan: high 71°F, low 49°FFFeb: high 71°F, low 49°FMMar: high 74°F, low 51°FAApr: high 77°F, low 54°FMMay: high 78°F, low 58°FJJun: high 82°F, low 62°FJJul: high 87°F, low 66°F89°AAug: high 89°F, low 66°FSSep: high 88°F, low 64°FOOct: high 83°F, low 59°FNNov: high 77°F, low 53°F48°DDec: high 71°F, low 48°F

30-year averages, 1991–2020

Education & workforceNear US average

36% bachelor's degree or higher

Education levels run about average, with 36% 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

10 public schools inside the boundary

There are 10 public schools inside the boundary and 5 private schools. 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 (40 miles away). There are 4 national parks and sites within a day's drive.

Bottom line

Nothing in Rowland Heights'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 ($1,967/mo) equals 28% 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.

See all the data for Rowland Heights →·All California cities →

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