Population
Riverside
316,241
Sparks
109,106
Median Income
Riverside
$88,575
Sparks
$86,979
Home Value
Riverside
$542,100
Sparks
$455,900
Rent
Riverside
$1,812
Sparks
$1,651
Crime Rate
Riverside
5.90
Sparks
3.95
Cost of Living
Riverside
160.0
Sparks
144.8
Avg Temp
Riverside
N/A
Sparks
N/A
Unemployment
Riverside
6.0%
Sparks
5.7%
How Similar Are Riverside & Sparks?
Sparks is Riverside's #5 most similar city
6 of 10 key metrics match within 10%
Population
Riverside
316,241
Sparks
109,106
Riverside (316,241) is about 2.9x larger than Sparks (109,106).
Violent Crime
Riverside
5.90
Sparks
3.95
Riverside has a 33% higher violent crime than Sparks.
Property Crime
Riverside
28.32
Sparks
25.84
Both cities have similar property crime — just a 9% difference.
Political Leaning
Riverside
49.3%
Sparks
48.3%
Both cities lean Democratic with similar vote shares — 2% difference.
Unemployment
Riverside
6.0%
Sparks
5.7%
Both cities have similar unemployment — just a 5% difference.
Median Income
Riverside
$88,575
Sparks
$86,979
Both cities have similar median income — just a 2% difference.
Home Values
Riverside
$542,100
Sparks
$455,900
Riverside has a 16% higher home values than Sparks.
Education
Riverside
16.2%
Sparks
17.9%
Both cities have similar education — just a 9% difference.
Demographics
Riverside
39.2%
Sparks
62.0%
Sparks has a 37% higher demographics than Riverside.
Cost of Living
Riverside
160.0
Sparks
144.8
Both cities have similar cost of living — just a 9% difference.
6 out of 10 key metrics match within 10%. Riverside and Sparks share several key characteristics.
At a Glance
0
Riverside
0
Sparks
Sparks leads in 6 of 8 categories
Cost of Living & Affordability — Sparks leads
Source: City Stats Index / HUDSparks scores 109.7 on the transportation index (100 = national avg) vs 131.7 in Riverside. Sparks has a fair market rent (1br) of $1,489 vs $1,777 in Riverside (19% lower). Sparks has a fair market rent (2br) of $1,870 vs $2,201 in Riverside (18% lower).
Overall Cost Index
Housing Index
Food Index
Transportation Index
Healthcare Index
Utilities Index
Living Wage (1 Adult)
Living Wage (Family of 4)
Fair Market Rent (1BR)
Fair Market Rent (2BR)
Housing Market
Source: U.S. Census Bureau ACSSparks has a median property tax of $2,193 vs $3,308 in Riverside (51% lower). Riverside has a vacancy rate of 4.9% compared to 7.1% in Sparks. Riverside has a median home value of $542,100 vs $455,900 in Sparks (19% higher).
Median Home Value
Median Rent
Median Property Tax
Owner-Occupied
Vacancy Rate
Single-Family Homes
Jobs & Economy — Sparks leads
Source: U.S. Census Bureau ACSRiverside: 162,198 vs Sparks: 59,405 for labor force. Sparks has a poverty rate of 9.0% compared to 12.5% in Riverside. Sparks: 21 min vs Riverside: 29 min for mean commute.
Median Household Income
Per Capita Income
Poverty Rate
Unemployment Rate
Labor Force
Mean Commute
Work from Home
Private Sector
Government Sector
Crime & Safety — Sparks leads
Source: FBI UCRSparks has a robbery rate (per 1k) of 0.56 compared to 1.20 in Riverside. Sparks has a property crime clearance of 25.3% compared to 7.8% in Riverside. Sparks has a assault rate (per 1k) of 2.50 compared to 4.12 in Riverside.
Violent Crime Rate (per 1K)
Property Crime Rate (per 1K)
Murder Rate (per 1K)
Robbery Rate (per 1K)
Assault Rate (per 1K)
Burglary Rate (per 1K)
Larceny Rate (per 1K)
Violent Crime Clearance
Property Crime Clearance
Weather & Climate
Source: NOAA / Open-MeteoAvg Annual Temperature
Avg Annual High
Avg Annual Low
Sunny Days per Year
Annual Rainfall
Annual Snowfall
Avg Humidity
Schools & Education — Sparks leads
Source: NCES / U.S. Census BureauSparks has a bachelor's degree or higher of 17.9% compared to 16.2% in Riverside. Sparks has a high school diploma or higher of 35.3% compared to 33.9% in Riverside.
Public Schools
Avg Student-Teacher Ratio
Colleges & Universities
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
High School Diploma or Higher
Demographics & Community
Source: U.S. Census Bureau ACSRiverside has a population of 316,241, about 2.9x the size of Sparks (109,106). Riverside skews younger with a median age of 33.1 vs 36.9.
Population
Median Age
Avg Household Size
Married Population
Foreign Born
White
Black
Hispanic
Asian
Riverside
Sparks
Healthcare — Sparks leads
Source: CMS Hospital CompareSparks: 3.8 vs Riverside: 3.0 for avg cms rating (out of 5).
Nearby Hospitals
Avg CMS Rating (out of 5)
With Emergency Services
Transportation & Commute — Sparks leads
Source: U.S. Census Bureau ACSRiverside has a bicycle of 0.7% compared to 0.1% in Sparks. Sparks: 21 min vs Riverside: 29 min for mean commute time. Sparks has a public transit of 2.0% compared to 1.5% in Riverside.
Mean Commute Time
Drive Alone
Public Transit
Bicycle
Work from Home
Airports
Cities Similar to Riverside, CA
Compare Riverside against its closest statistical matches across demographics, income, crime, health, and more.
City Comparison
8-axis fingerprint: population, income, housing, crime, education, age, climate, and cost of living. Click legend items to toggle.