California · Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA metro area

Buying a home in Rialto, California

In Rialto, the median value of owner-occupied homes is $487,900, San Bernardino County's effective property tax rate is 0.7%, a purchase mortgage carried a median $11,854 in total loan costs in 2025, and median gross rent is $1,759 a month.

Data as of : Census ACS 2020-2024, Census Vintage 2024, HMDA 2025, HUD FY 2027. Sources

Rialto home costs, fact by fact

About Rialto

Buyers looking at Rialto in California will find an incorporated city of 104,918 residents in San Bernardino County. HUD's Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom in the county is $2,103, and the effective property tax rate (median tax as a share of home value) is 0.7%.

Reading the Rialto figures

Rialto reads clearly against its inland neighbours. Owners put their homes at $487,900, well below California's $770,700 and a little under San Bernardino County's $505,000. Riverside carries $584,800 on the same scale. Jurupa Valley reads $574,600. Menifee reads $537,300, Santa Maria $531,700. Sacramento lists $506,300, and Moreno Valley $503,700, both still above Rialto. Clovis is lower, at $482,700. Palmdale is lower still, at $471,000, then Chico at $468,100. Lancaster drops to $446,600, further down Modesto reads $442,700, then Stockton $440,900. Los Angeles, at $921,200, is a different market altogether.

Ownership is a strength here: 66.2% of households own, level with Palmdale (66.2%) and near Clovis (65.4%). Riverside has 56.8%, Sacramento 51.7%, Chico 43.4%, all lower. Menifee has 80.2% owners and Jurupa Valley 70.1%, both higher still, while Los Angeles, with 36%, goes far lower. A city with such a high owner share leaves the rent figure worth reading closely, since it describes a smaller part of the housing stock.

Rent is $1,759 a month. Compared with Riverside ($1,914) or Santa Maria ($1,925), that is less, and the same holds against Moreno Valley ($2,135) or Menifee ($2,110). Sacramento rents for $1,779, Clovis for $1,792, Palmdale for $1,802, all close to Rialto. Lancaster, at $1,764, is almost the same. Jurupa Valley rents for $1,741, Modesto for $1,690. Stockton rents for $1,577 and Chico for $1,488. Check HUD's figures for the Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario area before judging rents: $2,103 and $2,771 by home size. Because these are benchmarks rather than medians, both sit above Rialto's median rent, and they should not be read as a local average.

On annual costs, the county's effective rate is 0.70% and its median bill $3,538, built on the $505,000 county value. Because Rialto's estimate is slightly lower than that, a typical Rialto bill could land a bit under the county figure, though the rate is the better guide. County borrowers paid a median $11,854 across 12,896 loans in 2025, and the quartile marks were $6,762 and $16,923. On a home priced near $487,900, those fees weigh noticeably.

Put the pieces together and Rialto looks like a city where owning is common and prices stay below the county line. The $487,900 estimate leaves it under San Bernardino County's $505,000, and the 66.2% owner share is higher than in Riverside or Sacramento. Moreno Valley is close on tenure (63.3%) and on value ($503,700), so the difference that matters is rent: Rialto's $1,759 undercuts Moreno Valley's $2,135. Rialto has 104,918 residents. Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, the metro area it sits in, holds 4,744,214 people and ranks 12th nationally.

Calculate for California

If you buy

California state transfer tax

California has no state transfer tax; counties and cities may charge one.

Price$770,700
State transfer taxnot computed
Who paysSet by the purchase contract

Default price: the California median value of owner-occupied homes, $770,700 (Census ACS 2025). Not computed: No state tax. The tax is set by county and city, so it cannot be computed from the state alone. Who pays: Neither the state statute nor the City of Los Angeles FAQ assigns the tax; the purchase contract and escrow instructions decide. Not included: county and city transfer taxes, recording fees, title insurance and lender charges. California transfer tax guide · all 50 states.

If you sell

Capital gain and the federal tax on it

Same federal rule in every state: Section 121 of the Internal Revenue Code excludes up to $250,000 of gain on a main home ($500,000 for a married couple filing jointly).

Capital gain$350,000
Section 121 exclusion$250,000 (limit $250,000)
Taxable gain$100,000
Type of gainLong-term (owned over 1 year), 15% chosen
Federal tax on the gain$15,000

Section 121 excludes $250,000; the rest is taxable.

Gain = sale price minus your adjusted basis (purchase price, buying costs and improvements); selling expenses reduce it (IRS Publication 523). Long-term rates for sales in 2026, by taxable income including the gain (IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32, section 4.03): 0% up to $49,450 single or $98,900 married filing jointly, 15% up to $545,500 single or $613,700 jointly, 20% above. Not included: California state income tax on the gain (not computed), the net investment income tax, depreciation recapture on a rental or home office, and the reduced exclusion for an early sale. Agent commissions are negotiated and never set by law. Capital gains on a home sale.

Questions about buying a home in Rialto

How much is property tax in Rialto?

Homeowners in San Bernardino County pay a median $3,538 a year in property tax, 0.7% of the county median home value of $505,000 (Census ACS 2020-2024). Your bill depends on your assessed value and local rates.

What are closing costs on a mortgage in Rialto?

Home-purchase mortgages in San Bernardino County carried median total loan costs of $11,854 in 2025; half of the 12,896 loans fell between $6,762 and $16,923 (HMDA). Total loan costs are the lender and settlement-service charges of the Closing Disclosure; transfer taxes and prepaid items come on top.

Is there a transfer tax when you buy a home in Rialto?

California has no state transfer tax. Counties may charge $0.55 per $500 of value under the Documentary Transfer Tax Act, and cities such as Los Angeles add their own, with Measure ULA adding 4% or 5.5% on very high-priced sales.

Is it cheaper to rent or buy in Rialto?

It depends on your mortgage rate, down payment and how long you stay. As a benchmark, the median value of owner-occupied homes in Rialto ($487,900) equals 23.1 years of the median gross rent ($1,759 a month), both from Census ACS 2020-2024.

What natural hazards affect home insurance in Rialto?

Across California, the main hazards for home insurance are earthquake, wildfire, flood and landslide, and the insurer of last resort is California FAIR Plan. A standard California homeowners policy does not cover earthquake damage; insurers must offer earthquake coverage (Insurance Code 10081), and the FAIR Plan sells limited fire coverage up to $3 million for residential policyholders.

Run your own numbers: rent vs buy calculator · closing costs calculator.

California rules that apply in Rialto

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Sources

California · All states · Federal guides