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Towns / California

Big Bear City, California

Big Bear City is an unincorporated community of about 11,400 people in San Bernardino County, California, about 7,000 feet above sea level. It has no city government of its own: local services come from the county, or in some states from the town or township. A typical home costs about 6.5 years of the typical household's income, compared with 4.1 across the U.S. The nearest metro area of about a million people or more, Riverside, is about 41 miles away as the crow flies.

Tourist town

Population
11,431
Census survey, 2020-24
Typical home, 2020-24
$463,500
San Bernardino County prices up 9.4% since 2022
Household income
$71,511
U.S.: $80,734
Prices, Riverside area
106.4
U.S. average = 100
Emergency room
5 miles
Big Bear Lake, CA
To Riverside
41 mi
straight line

The book's checklist

  • Lower cost of livingEveryday prices run 6.4% above the U.S. average in the Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario metro area.
  • More house for the moneyA typical home costs 6.5 years of the typical household's income here. Across the U.S. it's 4.1.
  • A safer neighborhoodThe FBI doesn't publish crime figures for unincorporated communities. Call the county sheriff's office (or the town or township police, where there is one) and ask what calls they get most.
  • Schools in town2 public schools: 1 elementary and 1 high school.
  • A hospital close byBear Valley Community Hospital in Big Bear Lake, about 5 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
  • Within reach of a big cityRiverside is about 41 miles away as the crow flies. The book suggests staying within about 60 miles if you'll miss big-city sports, concerts and theater.

A check means Big Bear City meets the rule of thumb from Frank and Dave's book. An empty box isn't a deal breaker: it's something to weigh for your family. A question mark means there isn't enough data.

What kind of town

Tourist town. About 55% of homes are vacation or seasonal homes, a sign of a visitor economy. More restaurants, shops and weekend events than locals alone could support, with the small-town basics intact.

The book sorts small towns into six types. These labels come only from the numbers; take the quiz to see which type fits your family.

For a lifetime

Homes and money

Typical home value, as owners valued them in 2020-2024
$463,500U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then
Up 9.4%San Bernardino County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities
$1,854 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income
$71,511U.S.: $80,734
Homes owned by the people living in them
71%U.S.: 65%
Typical property tax bill
$3,625 a yearCalifornia: $5,124
Homes built before 1940
3%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010
2%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes
55%U.S.: 3%
Everyday prices
106.4U.S. average = 100 (the Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario metro area)

Home values and rents are what households told the Census Bureau across 2020 to 2024, so they trail today's market: county prices have moved up 9.4% since 2022. Everyday prices are the government's average for the Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario metro area, not Big Bear City alone. Check current listings before you budget.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates; Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions); U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024.

The people

Population, 2020-2024 Census survey
11,431The Census Bureau makes yearly estimates only for incorporated towns
Median age
47.2 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older
24%U.S.: 17%
Under 18
19%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more
31%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year
6%U.S.: 6%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025); U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Work

Biggest lines of work
Schools, health care and social services (20%); arts, recreation, lodging and restaurants (19%); professional and business services (13%)
Unemployment rate
10%U.S.: 5%
Average commute
25 minutesU.S.: 26 minutes
Work from home
19%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line
16%U.S.: 12%

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Bear Valley Community Hospital, Big Bear Lake, CA, about 5 miles away. It's a critical access hospital (a small rural hospital with 25 or fewer beds). Medicare hasn't given it a star rating.

Nearest general hospital: San Gorgonio Memorial Hospital, Banning, CA, about 24 miles away. Medicare gives it 3 of 5 stars.

Look up doctors, clinics and the hospitals themselves on Medicare's Care Compare. Ask where the most serious cases are sent.

Sources: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information.

Schools

2 public schools in Big Bear City, run by Bear Valley Unified.

See each school on the federal school search, then check test scores and graduation rates on California's school report card.

Sources: National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal); National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024.

Internet

Homes with cable, fiber or DSL internet
82%U.S.: 76%
Homes with any internet subscription
97%U.S.: 91%

Before you buy, look up the address on the FCC's National Broadband Map to see which providers serve it.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.

Weather

January average low
24°F
July average high
80°F
Days 90°F or hotter
1 a year
Nights at or below freezing
176 a year
Rain and melted snow
20 inches a year
Snow
59 inches a year
Elevation
6,973 feet

Weather station: Big Bear Lake (7 miles away). Averages for 1991 to 2020.

Sources: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020; U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program.

Getting around

Straight-line miles. The road is always longer, and as the book says, an interstate at 70 is a different trip from a farm road at 45. Check the real drive: Bear Valley Community Hospital, Yucaipa, Riverside.

San Bernardino County is in a metro area of 1 million people or more (USDA rural-urban code 1, on a scale where 1 is the biggest metro areas and 9 the most rural counties).

For a day

1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

  • Joshua Tree National Park23 miles

Read about Big Bear City's history on Wikipedia.

Know Big Bear City?

Tell us what a visitor shouldn't miss, and what living there is really like. Write to Main Street at mainstreet@smalltownguide.com. The best notes from people who know the town will be added here.

Nearby

Straight-line miles.

Small towns

Sources

  1. U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates (Vintage 2025)
  2. U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates
  3. Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index for counties (all transactions)
  4. U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024
  5. FBI, Crime in the United States, Table 8 (offenses known to law enforcement by city)
  6. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Hospital General Information
  7. National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2023-24 (via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal)
  8. National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS institution directory, 2024
  9. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020
  10. U.S. Geological Survey, 3D Elevation Program
  11. National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places listings
  12. National Park Service, park unit boundaries
  13. USDA Economic Research Service, Rural-Urban Continuum Codes, 2023
  14. U.S. Census Bureau, 2025 Gazetteer files and 2020 urban areas

Census survey figures are estimates with a margin of error; we leave out any figure whose margin is too wide to be useful. Data last gathered October 5, 2026. See something wrong? Write to mainstreet@smalltownguide.com.