The second largest city in the county, home to its Level I trauma center and to a 40 million square foot logistics plan. Here is what that actually means for a household.
Moreno Valley is a 51.33-square-mile city in Riverside County, California, incorporated December 3, 1984 by uniting the communities of Edgemont, Sunnymead and Moreno, at the junction of State Route 60 and Interstate 215. The U.S. Census Bureau estimated its population at 214,263 as of July 1, 2025, making it the second most populous city in the county, with a median household income of $93,222 in 2024 dollars, 63.3% homeownership and a median owner-occupied home value of $503,700.
Two things define it. It is one of Southern California's biggest logistics employment centers, with an adopted specific plan permitting up to 40.6 million square feet of warehouse on 2,610 acres in the eastern city. And it hosts Riverside University Health System Medical Center, the county's 439-bed Level I trauma center. It also has the largest average household of any city we cover after Perris, at 3.79 people.
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Moreno Valley is the second largest city in Riverside County and the numbers describe a specific kind of household. The Census Bureau's 2020 to 2024 figures show an average of 3.79 people per household, second only to Perris among the cities we cover, with 63.3% homeownership, a median owner-occupied home value of $503,700 and a median household income of $93,222 in 2024 dollars. Median age at the 2020 census was 32.0. This is a young, large-family city buying square footage.
The employment base is genuinely substantial, and it is close by. On the city's 2024 figures the biggest employers are March Air Reserve Base at about 7,500, Riverside University Health System at 5,188, Amazon at 4,854, Moreno Valley Unified at 4,091, Skechers at 2,500, Ross and dd's Discounts at 2,000, ALDI's western headquarters at 1,900, Deckers Outdoor at 1,600, Kaiser Permanente at 1,467 and Harbor Freight Tools at 1,170. The city added more than 34,000 jobs between 2011 and 2022, and over 60% of those were in transportation, warehousing and utilities.
Here is the honest counterweight, straight from the city's own general plan: 85.2% of the working population is employed outside the city. Big local employers and a commuting population are not a contradiction; they mean the jobs here and the residents here are not the same people. Whether that changes is largely a question about warehouses, which is the next section.
And there is one asset nowhere else in this valley has: Riverside University Health System Medical Center, the county hospital, at 26520 Cactus Avenue. 439 licensed beds, a Level I trauma center accredited by the American College of Surgeons, a certified Primary Stroke Center, a Baby Friendly designated hospital and a Loma Linda University teaching hospital since 1963. If emergency care access matters to your family, that is a real reason to look here.
This gets described loosely in both directions. Here is only what the adopted documents actually say.
The World Logistics Center Specific Plan covers 2,610 acres in what city documents call Rancho Belago, the eastern portion of Moreno Valley, and permits up to 40.6 million square feet of building area. Its land use categories are Logistics Development for warehouses over 500,000 square feet, Light Logistics for smaller buildings, and Open Space including a 74.3-acre area around Mount Russell. A fire station is to be built in Phase 1.
The council adopted it on November 24, 2015, and the plan's own cover page records how: "Moreno Valley Jobs Initiative Approved by the Moreno Valley City Council in Lieu of Placing on Ballot." In other words the entitlements were re-enacted as a voter initiative that the council adopted outright rather than sending to an election. The city's economic development office describes it as the largest industrial corporate business center in California.
What we are not going to tell you: how much of it is built, or what any court has said about it. We could not verify either from a primary source, and on a page people make six-figure decisions from, a confident guess is worse than a gap. What is verifiable is that World Logistics Center Parkway and its State Route 60 overcrossing exist, and that in July 2025 the city received a $25.3 million California Trade Corridor Enhancement Program grant for right-of-way on an interchange improvement there: a new overcrossing bridge, two roundabouts, metered on and off ramps, a traffic management system and pedestrian and bike crossings. Money is moving. If you are buying in eastern Moreno Valley, we will pull the specific plan boundary against the parcel before you write.
Two state laws, AB 98 in 2024 and SB 415 in 2025, placed Moreno Valley inside California's Warehouse Concentration Region and required the city to adopt truck routes maximizing use of major highways by January 1, 2026. The city ran a Planning Commission presentation in January 2026 and public workshops through February, brought an ordinance adopting logistics use facilities mitigation measures negotiated with the California Attorney General's Office to council on August 18, 2026, and held a hearing on Circulation Element amendments and truck route maps on September 1, 2026. Those hearings are recent enough that we would check current outcomes before relying on them.
Also currently in review: a Merwin Properties building of roughly 991,047 square feet on 60 acres, a Perris Boulevard project of 525,540 square feet, a Moreno Valley Business Park building of about 220,390 square feet and the Bay and Day Commerce Center at 194,775 square feet. And Hisense USA announced in January 2026 that it is consolidating operations from Colton and Perris into 522,000 square feet at 22750 Cactus Avenue, adding about 200 jobs.
The city organizes by specific plan, and the adopted list is the reliable guide to what these names actually are.
Sunnymead was one of the three communities that united to incorporate Moreno Valley in 1984, and the name survives everywhere: Sunnymead Ranch has its own adopted specific plan with lakeshore design guidelines, Fire Station 2 is the Sunnymead station, and the city's Community Services District has a Zone S assessment along Sunnymead Boulevard charged by front linear foot. It is not a separate city and never was after 1984.
One of the largest adopted specific plans in the city, updated as recently as February 2022. Established master-planned housing on the city's south side. As with anything here, check which Community Services District zones and CFDs the parcel sits in, because Zone D landscape maintenance alone runs anywhere from $10 to over $1,000 a year depending on tract.
An adopted specific plan area on the city's rising ground, and the setting in the photograph at the top of this page. Hillside lots, longer views across the valley and generally a different feel from the flat grid below. Worth touring against Moreno Valley Ranch if views matter to you.
The specific plan area around the Moreno Valley Mall, amended as recently as March 2023. Central, convenient and walkable to retail. Read the mall section below before you assume that retail is stable, because it had a genuinely unusual 2026.
The third founding community, on the city's west side toward Riverside, and it survives as the city's Edgemont Corridor, where the city installed Wi-Fi Gardens in February 2026. Older housing stock and the closest part of the city to Riverside and the freeway junction.
A real place name for the eastern portion of the city, used in the city's own adopted World Logistics Center Specific Plan. It is not a specific plan of its own and not a separate jurisdiction. Do not confuse it with Rancho Belago Estates, a completely different proposal for up to 3,150 residences on 1,820 acres in unincorporated county southeast of the city. Two very similar names, two very different things.
The largest residential proposal in the city and worth watching closely. The specific plan amendment covers 770.5 acres with, in the city's own words, phased development of 15,000 residential units plus a 49,900 square foot mixed-use town center, 80 acres of parks including a 40-acre lake and a 15-acre lake promenade, and 40 acres of schools with up to three elementary sites and one middle school. Its final supplemental environmental document is dated late 2024. Fifteen thousand units on 770 acres is a high density for this city, so read it carefully before assuming what it will look like.
A proposal for up to 800 homes on 34.8 residential acres plus 150,000 to 220,000 square feet of commercial. Along with AquaBella and the Brodiaea project's 134 single-family lots, it is part of what the city's economic development office described as close to 8,000 single-family and multi-family units in development.
Grouped here for the reason that matters most: this part of the city is in Val Verde Unified, not Moreno Valley Unified. Rancho Verde High, March Middle, Vista Verde Middle and five elementary schools inside Moreno Valley belong to a district headquartered in Perris. If the district matters to you, this is the line that decides it.
Moreno Valley Unified enrolled 30,413 students in 2025-26 across 24 elementary, six middle, four traditional high and five alternative schools with more than 3,800 employees. Its high schools are Canyon Springs, Moreno Valley, Valley View and Vista del Lago. Its Measure X, a $240 million bond at $40 per $100,000 of assessed value, passed in November 2024 with 69.7%. Palm Middle School won a California Exemplary Arts Education Award for 2025-26, one of nineteen statewide.
Val Verde Unified, headquartered in Perris with 18,717 students, serves southern Moreno Valley: Rancho Verde High, March Middle and Vista Verde Middle, plus El Potrero, Lasselle, Mary McLeod Bethune, Rainbow Ridge and Victoriano elementary schools, all with Moreno Valley addresses. Address determines district. Verify yours.
Riverside University Health System Medical Center, 26520 Cactus Avenue, is the county hospital: 439 licensed beds, county-owned, opened at this site March 31, 1998, with the system itself founded in 1893 in downtown Riverside. It is a Level I trauma center accredited by the American College of Surgeons, a Joint Commission certified Primary Stroke Center and a designated Baby Friendly hospital, with residencies across emergency medicine, family medicine, internal medicine, general surgery, psychiatry, radiology, neurosurgery and orthopaedic surgery, and it has been a Loma Linda University teaching hospital since 1963. Kaiser Permanente is also a major local employer. New in 2026: a Rancho Family Medical Group primary care clinic opened at The District on Hemlock Avenue in February, and a LifeStream blood donation facility opened the same month.
Sales tax is 8.75%. The city's 1% transactions and use tax became operative April 1, 2025, following Measure U in November 2024, which passed with 74.2%, projected at roughly $30 million a year with no sunset. Measure M, the commercial cannabis tax, passed in November 2018 with over 74%.
On the property side, Moreno Valley publishes its charges, which most cities out here do not. For fiscal 2026-27: Community Services District Zone A for parks at $87.50 per parcel or dwelling unit, Zone C for arterial lighting at $9.00, Zone D for tract landscape maintenance at $10.00 to $1,047.94 depending on tract, and Zone S on Sunnymead Boulevard at about $4.29 per front linear foot. Then CFD No. 1 for park maintenance at $228.30 per dwelling unit, CFD 2014-01 for maintenance services at $0 to $832.90, CFD 2021-01 for parks at $41.42 to $388.04 and CFD 2023-01 for public safety services at $61.74 to $266.81, plus separate lighting and landscape maintenance districts. Newer homes are the ones most likely to carry the 2014, 2021 and 2023 districts, and those can stack.
Police service is contracted from the Riverside County Sheriff and branded as the Moreno Valley Police Department. Fire is the Moreno Valley Fire Department, operating seven stations: Sunnymead, Towngate, Sunnymead Ranch, Moreno Beach, Kennedy Park, College Park and Morrison Park. Electricity is split: Moreno Valley Utility, a municipal utility established in 2001, serves part of the city and publishes an address lookup tool precisely because coverage is partial, with Southern California Edison serving the rest. Check the address.
State Route 60 and Interstate 215 meet at the city's western edge, and SR-60 is a designated Critical Rural Freight Corridor. The Moreno Valley and March Field Metrolink station on the 91 and Perris Valley Line completed a $38 million improvement in July 2025, including a $32 million federal grant, adding a second platform, lengthening the existing platform for six-car trains and upgrading 2.5 miles of track. A separate double track project between Moreno Valley and Perris, roughly $80 million across 6.5 miles, is designed and environmentally cleared but still seeking grant funding, aimed at bidirectional service every thirty minutes before the 2028 Olympics. The Route 60 truck lanes project is listed by the county transportation commission as complete.
At 13460 Morrison Street, ribbon-cut December 18, 2025, and genuinely a regional first. It has Southern California's largest Velosolutions pump track, the region's first adaptive cycling track, the first asphalt jump lines in Southern California, an asphalt bicycle playground, and a 1,000-foot connecting path using sunlight-charged glow technology, the first use of it in the region. If you have kids on bikes, this alone is worth a Saturday.
3,400 acres managed by the county park district at 9699 Box Springs Mountain Road, rising to over 3,000 feet, with two staffed parking areas at Upper Box Springs and Hidden Springs and multi-use trails, open 7am to 6pm daily. The mountain also carries the "M," placed in 1966 for Moreno Valley High School.
More than 8,800 acres just south of the city, managed by California State Parks, with camping including tent, RV, equestrian and group sites, a marina, and the Ya'i Heki' Regional Indian Museum. Mussel inspection is required. Note it is not inside Moreno Valley or Perris; it sits in unincorporated county between them.
At 22550 Van Buren Boulevard with a Riverside 92518 address, on the edge of March Air Reserve Base's active flight line. Over 119 aircraft and more than 120 years of aviation history, one of the largest non-government-funded aviation and space museums in the world. Open Tuesday to Sunday, 9 to 5, with free admission for active duty.
The city's parks department reports more than 540 acres of parks and trails across 30-plus parks and five community facilities. Recent additions include Windsong Park unveiled in August 2024, Bella Sera Park dedicated September 2025 and a full-size basketball court added to Patriot Park the same month.
The Fourth of July parade and FunFest, and El Grito, the Mexican independence celebration with music, food and children's activities. Sky Zone Trampoline Park opened at 22550 Town Circle in June 2026 with more than 100 jobs.
On February 19, 2026 the city ordered the Moreno Valley Mall closed after the Fire Marshal identified nine critical life safety and fire protection violations: missing documentation for the fire sprinkler system, fire alarm, smoke control, fire doors, standpipe, dampers, emergency generators and emergency lighting. Macy's and JCPenney remained open because they operate independently of the mall interior. By February 25 three of the nine were resolved. The Fire Department approved a conditional reopening announced March 5, 2026, requiring fire watch personnel at two fire doors, two others sealed, fire door compliance by March 31 and permanent generator compliance within 90 days, with some municipal code violations still outstanding. If your purchase depends on that retail, ask about current compliance status.
The city adopted its MoVal 2040 General Plan and Final Program Environmental Impact Report on April 21, 2026. That is the document that now governs what can be built where, so anything written about Moreno Valley land use before spring 2026 may be out of date.
Under AB 98 and SB 415, the city has been working through adopted truck routes and logistics mitigation. Council took up an ordinance adopting logistics use facilities mitigation measures negotiated with the California Attorney General's Office on August 18, 2026, and held a public hearing on General Plan Circulation Element amendments and truck route maps on September 1, 2026. Those are days old as we write this, so confirm the outcomes before relying on them.
The city reported securing more than $40 million in competitive grant funding for transportation and infrastructure in its July 2026 State of the City, alongside a Museum and Art Space, a Senior Center expansion and a Public Safety Building in progress. The $25.3 million state grant for the State Route 60 and World Logistics Center Parkway interchange right-of-way was announced July 2025. And the Metrolink station improvements, $38 million, were completed in July 2025.
A 130,764 square foot three-story Public Storage at Alessandro Boulevard and Indian Street received a conditional use permit on June 11, 2026, and a 4,000 square foot McDonald's with a drive-through at Pigeon Pass Road and Ironwood Avenue was approved by the Planning Commission. In the residential pipeline, the AquaBella specific plan amendment, the Town Center at Moreno Valley and the Brodiaea project's 134 lots are all in review.
Ask three questions before you sign anything. First, ask the agent to name the school districts and any special tax assessments for a specific Moreno Valley address, not the city in general. Second, ask what the builder alternative looks like, because in Moreno Valley new construction often competes directly with resale and a good agent will price both. Third, ask to see their actual reviews rather than a testimonial page. HomeBliss Real Estate is a ten-agent team led by Jonathan Hernandez, REALTOR, DRE #02138316, brokered by Real Brokerage Technologies, Inc., DRE #02022092, with a 5.0 rating on Google and more than 150 families helped across Southwest Riverside County.
Space for large households near large employers. Census 2020 to 2024 figures show 3.79 people per household, 63.3% homeownership, median owner-occupied value $503,700 and median household income $93,222 in 2024 dollars, with a median age of 32.0 at the 2020 census. Top employers on the city's 2024 figures include March Air Reserve Base at about 7,500, Riverside University Health System at 5,188, Amazon at 4,854 and Skechers at 2,500.
An adopted specific plan covering 2,610 acres in eastern Moreno Valley permitting up to 40.6 million square feet of building area, adopted by the City Council November 24, 2015 as the Moreno Valley Jobs Initiative in lieu of a ballot measure. World Logistics Center Parkway and its SR-60 overcrossing exist, and the city received a $25.3 million state grant in July 2025 for interchange right-of-way there. We do not publish a build-out percentage or any litigation outcome, because we could not verify either.
Two. Moreno Valley Unified, 30,413 students in 2025-26, with Canyon Springs, Moreno Valley, Valley View and Vista del Lago high schools, and a $240 million Measure X bond that passed in November 2024 with 69.7%. Val Verde Unified, 18,717 students and headquartered in Perris, serves southern Moreno Valley including Rancho Verde High, March Middle, Vista Verde Middle and five elementary schools. Address determines district.
For fiscal 2026-27: Community Services District Zone A parks at $87.50 per parcel, Zone C lighting at $9.00, Zone D landscape maintenance from $10.00 to $1,047.94 by tract, and Zone S on Sunnymead Boulevard by front linear foot. Plus CFD No. 1 park maintenance at $228.30 per dwelling, CFD 2014-01 up to $832.90, CFD 2021-01 from $41.42 to $388.04 and CFD 2023-01 public safety from $61.74 to $266.81, and separate lighting and landscape districts. Newer homes most often carry the 2014, 2021 and 2023 districts.
8.75%. The city's 1% transactions and use tax became operative April 1, 2025 after voters approved Measure U in November 2024 with 74.2%, projected at about $30 million a year with no sunset. Measure M, approved November 2018 with over 74%, is the commercial cannabis activity tax.
No, and it is not in Perris either. It sits in unincorporated Riverside County between the two cities, outside any city limits, with a Perris 92571 mailing address that causes the confusion. The recreation area covers more than 8,800 acres and is run by California State Parks; the lake is the southern terminus of the California State Water Project holding 131,400 acre-feet.
Yes. Riverside University Health System Medical Center at 26520 Cactus Avenue is county-owned with 439 licensed beds, a Level I trauma center accredited by the American College of Surgeons, a certified Primary Stroke Center and a designated Baby Friendly hospital, and a Loma Linda University teaching hospital since 1963. The current facility opened March 31, 1998, and it is the city's second largest employer.
The city ordered it closed February 19, 2026 over nine critical life safety and fire protection violations. Macy's and JCPenney stayed open because they operate independently of the mall interior. Three violations were resolved by February 25 and a conditional reopening was announced March 5, 2026, with fire watch personnel posted, two fire doors sealed, fire door compliance due March 31 and generator compliance within 90 days.
Moreno Valley is the one city out here that publishes its assessment schedule, and reading it is the whole job. Community Services District Zone D alone runs from ten dollars a year to over a thousand depending on the tract, and newer homes often stack three separate CFDs on top. Add a school district line that puts part of the city in Val Verde rather than Moreno Valley Unified, and a 40 million square foot logistics plan in the eastern city, and the address decides far more than the listing photos do. We check all three before you write.
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