Living in Lenwood, California: homes, schools and costs

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 2.5 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 town1 public school. No public high school in town: the nearest is Barstow High, about 5 miles away.
A hospital close byBarstow Community Hospital in Barstow, about 5 miles away, has the nearest emergency room.
Within reach of a big cityRiverside is about 67 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 Lenwood 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.

For a lifetime

Homes and money

Typical home value, as owners valued them in 2020-2024: $194,300U.S.: $332,700
Home prices since then: Up 9.4%San Bernardino County, 2022 to 2025
Typical rent, with utilities: $1,176 a monthU.S.: $1,413
Typical household income: $78,958U.S.: $80,734
Typical property tax bill: $1,350 a yearCalifornia: $5,124
Homes built before 1940: 1%U.S.: 12%
Homes built since 2010: 1%U.S.: 11%
Vacation and seasonal homes: 0%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 Lenwood 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: 3,383The Census Bureau makes yearly estimates only for incorporated towns
Median age: 31.4 yearsU.S.: 38.9
Age 65 and older: 21%U.S.: 17%
Under 18: 27%U.S.: 22%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or more: 9%U.S.: 36%
Moved here from another county or state in the past year: 4%U.S.: 6%
College students: 6%share of all residents

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: Retail (25%); schools, health care and social services (18%)
Work from home: 7%U.S.: 15%
Below the poverty line: 15%U.S.: 12%

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

Health care

Nearest emergency room: Barstow Community Hospital, Barstow, CA, about 5 miles away. It's a general hospital. Medicare gives it 1 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

1 public school in Lenwood, run by Barstow Unified. The nearest public high school is Barstow High, about 5 miles away.

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 any internet subscription: 94%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: 35°F
July average high: 102°F
Days 90°F or hotter: 133 a year
Nights at or below freezing: 32 a year
Rain and melted snow: 5 inches a year
Snow: 0 inches a year
Elevation: 2,215 feet

Weather station: Barstow (5 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

Barstow Community HospitalEmergency room5

Apple Valley, CACity of 75,00025

Riverside, CAMetro of 4.8 million67

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: Barstow Community Hospital, Apple Valley, 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

National Park Service sites within about an hour:

Death Valley National Park52 miles
Mojave National Preserve55 miles

Read about Lenwood's history on Wikipedia.

Know Lenwood?

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

Barstow, CA25,000 people, 4 miles
Silver Lakes, CA7,000 people, 16 miles
Spring Valley Lake, CA9,500 people, 28 miles
Mountain View Acres, CA3,500 people, 30 miles
Lucerne Valley, CA6,000 people, 33 miles
Boron, CA2,700 people, 33 miles

Sources

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.