Housing & affordability
18% of the score · 11/100
F
Median home value$245,000
Riverside $536,300
Median rent$1,091/mo
Riverside $1,846/mo
Cost-burdened households42%
Riverside 41%
Barstow
San Bernardino County25,100 residentsBarstow Unified
34
F
Suburbgrade score
54th of 60 Riverside suburbs. Strongest on cost of living, held back by housing & affordability.
34
Riverside median 47
0 · F
A+ · 100
Launch-day rule. Residents is not counted for Barstow yet: no poll responses so far. The overall score of 34 is computed on the other six categories, re-normalised to 100%. Answer the poll →
What living here is actually like
Written summary in preparation This page is waiting for its written summary, and for a person to check it. Until then it is excluded from search engines.
What Barstow is like to live in, by category
Bars show Barstow against Riverside. Weights are published in full.Schools
18% of the score · 24/100
F
Within-state proficiency9th pct
Riverside median 36th pct
Student–teacher ratio23.5
Riverside median 22.9
Graduation rate89%
Riverside median 91%
Cost of living
14% of the score · 87/100
A−
Housing cost index62
Riverside 100
Eff. tax rate0.56%
Riverside 0.79%
Local sales tax8.75%
Riverside median 8.75%
Commute & transport
14% of the score · 43/100
D
Mean commute28.2 min
Riverside 33.2 min
Under 30 minutes60%
Riverside 53%
Transit stops / sq mi0.7
Riverside median 1.0 · within 2 miles
Amenities
12% of the score · 36/100
F
Restaurants & cafés7
Riverside median 23 · within 2 miles
Groceries1
Riverside median 3 · within 2 miles
Parks10
Riverside median 19 · within 2 miles
Employment & income
12% of the score · 13/100
F
Median household income$53,380
Riverside $89,662
Unemployment12%
Riverside 6.8%
Professional occupations24%
Riverside 33%
Residents
12% of the score · inactive
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No responses yet. Residents is excluded from the score until eight people answer.
Ask the people who live here
Twelve yes/no questions, one tap each. No dataset knows whether the yards are kept or whether anyone talks to their neighbours. Answers feed the Residents grade, which needs eight responses before it counts.
Nobody has answered for Barstow yet. If you live here, you can be the first.
Is it quiet at night?
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Do you feel safe walking after dark?
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Can you walk to a grocery store?
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Is it good for young children?
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Are yards and streets well kept?
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Tap either button to answer — no account neededAll twelve questions →
Better than Barstow on housing & affordability
Barstow's weakest grade is F. One suburb is within 25 miles and scores higher on the same four inputs.
SuburbHousingOverall
Apple Valley25 mi from BarstowF 38 D− Median home value: ACS 2020–24 · Ownership rate: ACS 2020–24
Common questions about living in Barstow
Is Barstow, CA a good place to live?
Barstow scores 34 out of 100, 54th of 60 Riverside suburbs. It is strongest on cost of living and weakest on housing & affordability. Every weight behind that score is published on the methodology page.
Is Barstow expensive to live in?
Cost of living grades A−. The median home is $245,000, 54% below the Riverside median, and the effective property tax rate is 0.56%. $1,091/mo is the median gross rent.
How good are the schools in Barstow?
Schools grade F. The districts serving Barstow sit at the 9th pct within-state proficiency percentile, with a 89% graduation rate and a 23.5 student–teacher ratio. Barstow is served by Barstow Unified. Proficiency is only ever compared inside the same state.
How long is the commute from Barstow?
The mean commute is 28.2 min, with 60% of workers travelling under 30 minutes and 6.1% working from home. Transit density is 0.7 stops per square mile.
Can you walk anywhere in Barstow?
Within two miles there are 1 groceries, 7 restaurants and cafés and 10 parks, which grades F on amenities.
Are the homes in Barstow old or new?
The median home in Barstow was built in 1970 — older than the Riverside median of 1987. That is a median, so a town can be half post-war and half new-build and still land there. 64% of homes are houses rather than flats.
Every answer is built from the figures on this page, with their sources and as-of dates on the methodology page.