Fontana is a city located in San Bernardino County California. With a 2020 population of 210,857, it is the 21st largest city in California and the 117th largest city in the United States. Fontana is currently growing at a rate of 0.59% annually but its population has decreased by -0.87% since the most recent census, which recorded a population of 212,704 in 2020. Spanning over 43 miles, Fontana has a population density of 4,896 people per square mile.
The average household income in Fontana is $88,073 with a poverty rate of 11.74%. The median rental costs in recent years comes to $1,368 per month, and the median house value is $393,200. The median age in Fontana is 31 years, 29.3 years for males, and 32.7 years for females.
Fontana is located in San Bernardino County, California along the San Bernardino Mountains. “Fontana” is Italian for “water source,” a nod to the nearby Santa Ana River. Fontana is currently the second largest city in San Bernardino County after San Bernardino, although the cities are close in population. It’s part of the Inland Empire, which comprises San Bernardino and Riverside Counties as well as the Greater Los Angeles area, the second largest metropolitan area in the United States.
Population Growth
Like other cities in the Inland Empire, Fontana is enjoying significant population growth driven by higher-paying professional jobs in the region and the high cost of living in Orange and Los Angeles Counties. Fontana was recently named as the Most Prosperous City in California thans to its stable home values, average income, low unemployment and poverty rates, and population growth. In 2016, Fontana led San Bernardino County in population growth with an increase of 1.4%, adding nearly 3,000 people in just one year. Since 1990, Fontana’s population has nearly doubled.
Fontana is a fairly young city with a history going back to its founding in 1919. It quickly became an agricultural community with chicken ranches, vineyards, and citrus orchards along Route 66. During World War II, one of just two steel mills in the West was built in Fontana. The mill’s owner, Henry J. Kaiser, then built the Fontana Kaiser Permanente medical facility to provide health care for mill workers. It’s now the country’s largest managed care organization.
Fontana’s economy has largely moved away from agriculture, intead focusing on industry, especially trucking industries. It’s home to many product distribution centers for major companies like Home Shoppig Network, Mercedes-Benz, and Toyota. Kaiser Permanente is Fontana’s largest employer.
By 2000, Fontana had a population of 129,000. Today, it’s estimated at more than 211,000, in large part due to large residential developments in the north part of the city and a successful campaign to annex developed, unincorporated areas in 2006 and 2007.
