Roughly the size of the State of New Jersey, Riverside County encompasses 28 cities and several unincorporated communities spanning urban, suburban, and rural settings. Seven nationally protected nature areas, including most of Joshua Tree National Park, sit within county lines. Riverside County is also home to the Coachella Music Festival, one of the most popular music festivals in the world, which brings celebrities and musicians to the area every year.
County Seat
Riverside
Most Populous City
Riverside
Population
2,450,758
Government Type: County
Legislative Body: Board of Supervisors
Size of Legislative Body: 5
Riverside County, the country’s 10th most populous county, is committed to developing economic opportunity strategies for its residents that are rooted in data and evidence, community priorities, and cross-sector partnerships. The county aims to deepen its commitment to these objectives as part of its participation in the Upward Mobility Cohort.
Like many communities across the country, Riverside County is experiencing a severe shortage of affordable rental housing for people and families with low incomes. Residents struggling to pay rent are further affected by the county’s high cost of living and stagnant wages. Unemployment rates also remain high as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Riverside County has undertaken several new initiatives to address the ways the pandemic has affected the lives of the community’s most economically disadvantaged residents. The county is also engaged in collaborative efforts across the region to address how the lack of affordable housing has affected families with low incomes, particularly Latinx families. And it is actively focused on tackling issues of racial inequity, particularly in the adult and juvenile justice systems, as well as on undertaking work to advance upward mobility.
Through its early work in the Upward Mobility Cohort and with other cohort participants, Riverside County has learned that disaggregating data by characteristics such as race, gender, and income provides a more detailed picture of socioeconomic conditions that affect residents’ lives and ability to achieve upward mobility. And using Urban Institute’s mobility metrics has shown that the average Riverside County resident earns about two-thirds of what is needed to afford basic living expenses. Further disaggregating that data then revealed which types of workers are most vulnerable, which will allow the county to better target the strategies it includes in its Mobility Action Plan.
Partner Highlight
Riverside County is collaborating with several organizations to develop its Mobility Action Plan. Among them are the following:
