Everything else equal, we can all agree that living in a cheaper place is better than living in a more expensive place.
I’d much rather pay $500/mo in rent than $1,000. And I’d rather pay $2 for coffee than $5.
And while every neighbhorhood in Riverside might be more expensive than living in rural California, there are certain neighborhoods that are definitely cheaper.
What exactly are those Riverside neighborhoods where your dollar goes a little further — you can get that one bedroom instead of the studio?
Instead of relying on public opinion and speculation, we wanted to get the facts straight and determine which neighborhoods in Riverside are the cheapest using Saturday Night Science.
What’s the cheapest neighborhood to live in Riverside for 2024? According to the most recent census data, Sycamore Canyon Park looks to be the cheapest Riverside neighborhood to live in.
At this point, we should make it clear that you do get what you pay for — some of these neighborhoods might not be the best places to live in Riverside. You could be sacrificing location or crime rates for more space and cheaper groceries.
Read on to see how we determined the places around Riverside that deserve a little bragging rights, or maybe you’re interested in the worst neighborhoods in Riverside.
For more California reading, check out:
- Best Places To Live In California
- Cheapest Places To Live In California
- Cheapest Cities To Live In America
- Cheapest States To Live In America
Table Of Contents: Top Ten | Methodology | Summary | Table
The 10 Cheapest Neighborhoods To Live In Riverside For 2024
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Population: 309
Cost Of Living Index: 100 (cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 3.9 (5th cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.013 (cheapest)
More on Sycamore Canyon Park: Data | Real Estate
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Population: 14,828
Cost Of Living Index: 119 (18th cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 3.7 (cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.019 (9th cheapest)
More on La Sierra South: Data | Real Estate
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Population: 12,761
Cost Of Living Index: 112 (10th cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 4.8 (14th cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.018 (5th cheapest)
More on La Sierra Acres: Data | Real Estate
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Population: 9,567
Cost Of Living Index: 123 (20th cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 4.0 (7th cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.016 (2nd cheapest)
More on Victoria: Data | Real Estate
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Population: 9,682
Cost Of Living Index: 133 (24th cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 3.8 (2nd cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.017 (3rd cheapest)
More on Mission Grove: Data | Real Estate
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Population: 9,866
Cost Of Living Index: 115 (13th cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 3.8 (4th cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.02 (15th cheapest)
More on Northside: Data | Real Estate
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Population: 2,134
Cost Of Living Index: 150 (27th cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 3.8 (3rd cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.018 (4th cheapest)
More on Hawarden Hills: Data | Real Estate
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Population: 6,151
Cost Of Living Index: 114 (11th cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 5.1 (2cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.018 (6th cheapest)
More on Grand: Data | Real Estate
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Population: 15,833
Cost Of Living Index: 109 (4th cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 5.4 (24th cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.019 (11th cheapest)
More on Eastside: Data | Real Estate
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Population: 22,794
Cost Of Living Index: 139 (26th cheapest)
Home Value To Income Ratio: 4.0 (6th cheapest)
Rent To Income Ratio: 0.019 (8th cheapest)
More on Orangecrest: Data | Real Estate
Methodology: How We Determined The Cheapest Riverside Hoods In 2024
To rank the cheapest places to live in Riverside, we had to determine what criteria define “cheap” and then apply Saturday Night Science.
Using Census and extrapolated BLS data, we arrived at the following set of criteria:
- Overall Cost Of Living
- Rent To Income Ratio
- Median Home Value To Income Ratio
We then ranked each neighborhood with scores from 1 to 28 in each category, where 1 was the cheapest.
Next, we averaged the rankings for each neighborhood to create a cheap neighborhood index.
And finally, we crowned the neighborhood with the lowest cheapest neighborhood index, the “Cheapest City Neighborhood In Riverside.” We’re lookin’ at you, Sycamore Canyon Park.
We updated this article for 2024. This is our fourth time ranking the cheapest neighborhoods to live in Riverside. Skip to the end to see the list of all the neighborhoods in the city, from cheapest to most expensive.
Summary: Lowest Cost Places To Live In Riverside
If you’re measuring the neighborhoods in Riverside where prices are low, and it’s cheap to live, this is an accurate list.
The most affordable neighborhoods in Riverside are Sycamore Canyon Park, La Sierra South, La Sierra Acres, Victoria, Mission Grove, Northside, Hawarden Hills, Grand, Eastside, and Orangecrest.
As mentioned earlier, the neighborhoods in Riverside aren’t all cheap. Arlington South takes the title of the most expensive neighborhood to live in Riverside.
The most expensive neighborhoods in Riverside are Arlington South, University, Canyon Crest, Alessandro Heights, and Arlington.
We ranked the neighborhoods from cheapest to most expensive in the chart below.
For more California reading, check out:
- Most Dangerous Cities In California
- Richest Cities In California
- Safest Places In California
- Worst Places To Live In California
Detailed List Of The Cheapest Neighborhoods To Live In Riverside For 2024
| Rank | Neighborhood | Cost Of Living Index |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sycamore Canyon Park | 100 |
| 2 | La Sierra South | 119 |
| 3 | La Sierra Acres | 112 |
| 4 | Victoria | 123 |
| 5 | Mission Grove | 133 |
| 6 | Northside | 115 |
| 7 | Hawarden Hills | 150 |
| 8 | Grand | 114 |
| 9 | Eastside | 109 |
| 10 | Orangecrest | 139 |
| 11 | La Sierra Hills | 125 |
| 12 | Arlington Heights | 127 |
| 13 | Magnolia Center | 115 |
| 14 | Canyon Springs | 117 |
| 15 | Casablanca | 110 |
| 16 | Hunter Industrial Park | 105 |
| 17 | Ramona | 111 |
| 18 | Airport | 116 |
| 19 | Wood Streets | 123 |
| 20 | La Sierra | 115 |
| 21 | Presidential Park | 117 |
| 22 | Downtown | 110 |
| 23 | Arlanza | 112 |
| 24 | Arlington | 109 |
| 25 | Alessandro Heights | 155 |
| 26 | Canyon Crest | 136 |
| 27 | University | 104 |
| 28 | Arlington South | 126 |