Found between the Inland Empire and the San Gabriel Valley is the always sunny city of Pomona. Given that the town’s name honors the ancient Roman goddess of fruit, it stands to reason that you will have easy access to various delicious, sweet fruits when you live here.
Since its foundation in 1888, the city has experienced meteoric growth, eventually becoming a component of one of the metropolitan areas in the state with the highest population density. This metro area is also the location of the California State Polytechnic University and the fairgrounds for the county of Los Angeles.
Due to its proximity to Los Angeles, Pomona, which is only around 30 miles away, is sometimes overlooked by many people. Therefore, this post will discuss many exciting aspects of this suburbia so you can better understand and appreciate it.
Read on to identify the pros and cons of living in this California town.
List of Contents
Is Pomona a Good Place To Live In? – A Thriving Community Brimming With Opportunities
The Good Side
The City Has an Abundance of Delectable Sweet Produce
If you make your home in this city, you can look forward to an abundance of delicious and sweet produce. It is also the ideal town if you want to eat a meal made with classic California ingredients. Here, you can discover a variety of tasty fruits and vegetables from all over the area.
At the Pomona Farmers Market, which happens every Saturday throughout the year in the town Shaun Diamond Plaza neighborhood, you’ll be able to get a taste of some of these products.
Aside from this, you can purchase fresh food at the Downtown Pomona Certified Farmers Market, held on the second Saturday of every month.
If you don’t want to give up your Saturday to buy fresh fruit, you can also find delicious produce daily at the Farm Store at Kellogg Ranch, where Cal Poly Pomona sells fresh produce from its farm.
Pomona Is Home To Several Well-known Festivals
Aside from having a vibrant farmer’s market, one of the advantages of living in this city is that it hosts multiple events at various times throughout the year.
Visit the Pomona Arts Colony on the second Saturday of every month to participate in the Art Walk. This monthly event allows galleries from over the town to showcase their most recent shows, and restaurants extend their hours to accommodate the rush of guests.
You can also attend the Chalk Art Festival, which takes place around November in the fall. During this festival, aspiring artists and locals decorate the pavement with vibrant displays of color. If you want, you can even join in this celebration.
The Downtown Collectors Street Faire is the perfect place for you to satisfy your inner treasure hunter, whether you want to explore, trade, buy, or sell anything there.
Five times a year, Pomona presents the Collectors Street Faire along Antique Row. These antique shops bring their items to sell, and in addition, you can enjoy eating at concession stands and listening to live music.
This city is also home to the largest fair in the United States, the LA County Fair, which features a 13-acre carnival, kids’ exhibition, and a working farm.
This event takes place at the Fairplex every year, always in September. Since its inception nearly a century ago, the fair has expanded to accommodate the needs of more than one million attendees annually.
If you live in Pomona, you will have the opportunity to participate in various festivals, which will undoubtedly transform your time in this city into a memorable and enjoyable adventure.
The Place Offers Excellent Outdoor Recreation
If you live here, you’ll be able to take advantage of Pomona’s year-round sunshine and enjoy the city’s many outdoor activities. This town has something for you, even if you are more of a spectator than an active participant.
Auto Club Raceway, often known as Pomona Raceway, is one of the region’s premier racetracks. It features a quarter-mile drag strip and hosts the annual Winternationals racing event.
It is also the oldest on the National Hot Rod Association’s Full Throttle Drag Racing Series circuit (NHRA). The raceway can accommodate around 40,000 spectators, and you can even race against your opponents or the clock.
If you are passionate about racing, you should make a pit stop at this establishment whenever you are in this metropolis.
Visit the Mountain Meadows Golf Course if the game of golf is something that interests you. Jacaranda trees and other native vegetation border this 18-hole championship golf course. The well-maintained system has various holes and elevation changes, resulting in an unrivaled golfing experience.
Palomares Park is the place to go if you’re searching for the ideal location for a stroll or participating in outdoor games. Skateboarders frequently frequent this 18-acre urban park. This park also contains a bike track a little longer than a half-mile.
The Bad Side
Pomona Has the Terrible Crime Rates
Like every other city in California, Pomona has a very high rate of overall criminal activity.
The town’s crime rates are 55% higher than the national average. On the other hand, it has a violent crime rate 32% higher than the average for the country. Living here makes it impossible to avoid being aware of all of the shootings that have taken place in and around the neighborhood.
Although the metropolis is safer than 14% of the cities in the United States, the odds of being a victim of crime here are 1 in 28. Also, criminal activity in this town is up 8% from the previous year.
When looking for a neighborhood to reside in this metropolitan area, you must consider the level of safety the location offers to reduce the likelihood of becoming a victim of a criminal act.
The City Is Experiencing Unfavorable Weather Conditions
To make the most of your relocation to Pomona, you must adapt to the Mediterranean climate here. The summers in this city are often dry and quite hot, with August being the month with the highest average high temperature, which is 92.9° on average.
This town has 285 sunny days yearly; however, living here, you will not encounter any rain. The city only has 17 inches of precipitation annually, far less than the national average of 38 inches.
Fortunately, the relative humidity is relatively low and comfortable. There are, however, few days throughout the summer when the humidity is intolerable.
Pomona is also one of the places in California that receive the fewest recorded snowfall occurrences, making it one of the minor snowy communities in the state. Therefore, if you wish to live in an area where it snows, you should look into moving to another city.
What Is the Cost of Living in Pomona? – A Moderately Low-cost Southern California City
The Good Side
It Has Moderate Price of Living
Although Pomona’s overall cost of living is above the national average, it is known to have a moderate cost of expenses compared to other Southern California cities. Generally, the prices of groceries, healthcare, utilities, and transportation are lower than the national average compared to the rest of the country.
The cost of housing is the most significant contributor; however, compared to the price of real estate in California’s most expensive neighborhood, it is still cheaper.
After moving here is likely that your monthly expenses will increase, decrease, or remain the same. On the other hand, the cost of goods and services is only slightly lower than the average for the nation.
Pomona is the best place to live in California if you want to avoid paying the high costs associated with the rest of the state because of its high cost of living.
The Bad Side
It Offers Luxurious Housing
Although the cost of living in Pomona is lower than the average for the state of California, it is still over 36.2% higher than the national average.
The cost of housing is the primary contributor to this city’s higher-than-average cost of living compared to the national average.
If you live here, you can expect to pay 83% more for housing than the average cost in the United States; nonetheless, this figure is far lower than the cost of housing in Los Angeles, which is over 140% higher than the average.
The price of a single-family home in the area can range anywhere from $180,000 to $1 million, determined primarily by the neighborhood and the house size. However, the average cost of a home in the area is $540,500.
If you prefer to rent, a one-bedroom apartment can cost from $900 to $1,500 per month, depending on its size and amenities.
Before deciding to reside in this town, you should always consider the high cost of housing, as this will significantly affect your financial savings.
Why Work in Pomona? – The Perfect Location to Kick off Your Professional Life!
The Good Side
The Place Offers Numerous Occupations
Pomona is not primarily a blue-collar city, nor is it mainly a white-collar town; instead, it boasts a diverse workforce that includes both blue-collar and white-collar jobs.
Pomona is primarily a metropolis of people who work in office and retail sales, as well as those who provide various services and are professionals. The town is home to numerous people who work in office and administrative support, sales, and food service.
The city’s top employers are Pomona Unified School District, Pomona Valley Hospital Medical Center, California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, and Lanterman Developmental Center.
Cal Poly Pomona and Western University of Health Sciences contribute significantly to the region regarding the number of employees they generate and the caliber of students they graduate.
Before you relocate here, it would be great if you did some research on career opportunities. That way, you will already have a job lined up when you get here, which is especially helpful given the competition.
It Is the Economic Engine of Pomona Valley
Pomona has been a center of economic activity in eastern Los Angeles County since it began as a farming town and grew into a manufacturing center.
Education, health care, wholesale trade, and manufacturing are the four primary industries that drive the city’s economy today. Together, they provide tens of thousands of employment and contribute millions of dollars to the area’s economy yearly through wages and revenue.
Pomona’s robust arts and entertainment industries have established the area as a cultural hub. The many concerts here show the importance of the arts in the community and the monthly Art Walk in Downtown Pomona. These also help the city’s economy to grow.
This location is perfect for you if the idea of living in a city that boasts a robust economy appeals to you.
The Bad Side
The City Has a Slow Rate of Job Growth
Like every other city in California, Pomona is struggling with a high unemployment rate, although the town’s workforce consists of people from various backgrounds.
The area’s unemployment rate is double the national average of 6.0%, at 12.8%. Aside from this relatively high unemployment rate, the town’s job growth is slow, with only a 0.7% gain over the previous year.
Also, over the next ten years, this metropolitan area anticipates low future job growth of only 32.7%, which is lower than the average job growth projection for the United States, which is 33.5%.
Pomona also offers low wages, which is another disadvantage of living here. The average salary in this city is $17,041, which is less than the national average of $28,555. The typical household income is $48,993 per year, which is also below the national average of $53,482 per year.
The high unemployment rate and low wages, combined with the high cost of living, are the key contributors to its poverty rate, accounting for 21.5% of the total population.
Even though it does not receive much attention, Pomona, California, is an excellent location to call home.
The city of Pomona is vital to the functioning of Southern California as a whole and the greater Los Angeles area in particular. It also has a fascinating past and is a perfect location for anyone who wishes to live in Southern California without having to pay the high cost.
However, like every other metropolis, it has its share of problems. Whether or not you make this sunny California city, your permanent residence is entirely up to you.