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Moving to
Spring Valley Lake.
Spring Valley Lake is an unincorporated community in San Bernardino 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 Spring Valley Lake
Spring Valley Lake is an unincorporated community in California. The numbers below lay out what daily life there actually looks like.
The tradeoffs are worth naming plainly. Spring Valley Lake 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 not so good
- Rent well above the national average
- High home prices
- Above-average unemployment in the county
- Long commutes
- Air quality concerns
- High rent burden for renters
How Spring Valley Lake compares
Median household income
Median rent (per month)
Median home value
What it takes to move to Spring Valley Lake
Based on Spring Valley Lake's median rent, home value and household income
To rent
$4,700
up front: first month plus a typical one-month deposit
- Income to keep rent under 30%: $94,000 a year
- 53% of Spring Valley Lake renters spend 30% or more of their income on rent
To buy
$92,600
a 20% down payment on the median home
- With 10% down: $46,300
- Homes cost 5.6× the typical local household income (US: 4.1×)
Moving costs, closing costs and taxes not included.
The details
Cost of living▲ 66% above US
$2,350/mo median rent
Rent is expensive here, at $2,350 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 $463,000. Buyers should expect to stretch their budget here.
Median home value $463,000 · 53% of renters cost-burdened
Job market
5.4% county unemployment
Unemployment in San Bernardino County is 5.4%, 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.
San Bernardino County (county-wide)
Safety
444 violent crimes per 100k, whole jurisdiction
Spring Valley Lake doesn't have its own police department, so there's no crime rate for it alone. The figures shown are for the San Bernardino 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 1113/100k · Policed by San Bernardino County Sheriff's Office (county-wide rate) · 2025 data
Getting around▲ 35% above US
35 min average commute
Traffic is a real factor here. The 35.2 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; 13% work from home.
How workers get to work
Climate
Summers run seriously hot, with average highs pushing 95°F, and winters are chilly but manageable, with lows around 34°F. It's a dry climate with limited rainfall.
Average month
30-year averages, 1991–2020
Education & workforce▼ 18% below US
29% bachelor's degree or higher
College degree attainment runs below average at 29%. That tends to reflect a more trade and working-class economy, which can be great or limiting depending on the industry.
Schools
0 public schools inside the boundary
No public school is located inside the boundary; students attend schools in the surrounding district.
Parks & recreation
The nearest national park or historic site is Juan Bautista de Anza National Historic Trail (43 miles away). There are 4 national parks and sites within a day's drive.
Bottom line
Nothing in Spring Valley Lake'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 ($2,350/mo) equals 34% 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 Spring Valley Lake →·All California cities →
Other places near Spring Valley Lake
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