City · Los Angeles County, California

Pico Rivera, California

Pico Rivera is a city in Los Angeles County, California, part of the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA metro area. It has 60,272 residents. Pico Rivera, California has a quality-of-life score of 31 out of 100 (low), ranking #10,853 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within California it ranks #606 of 1,062 cities and towns. It ranks best on arts, entertainment and recreation (high), comfortable days (high) and public EV charging ports (high). It ranks worst on loneliness (high), high school diploma or higher (low) and high ozone days (high).

31Low

Quality-of-life score: #10,853 of 15,651 cities and towns
California: #606 of 1,062 in CA
Population: 60,272 (2020-2024)
Land area: 8 mi²
Density: 7,248.2 /mi²
FIPS code: 0656924

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 76 of 80 indicators, with the default “Explorer” weights.

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Scores by category

Each category averages its indicators' percentile scores among US cities and towns.

Safety29#11,039/15,637
Economy64#5,563/15,631
Housing8#13,736/14,977
Health72#4,309/15,609
Healthcare67#5,186/15,650
Environment2#15,107/15,453
Education4#15,016/15,649
Infrastructure49#8,031/15,650
Community22#12,188/15,651
Leisure & amenities86#2,129/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Pico Rivera, California ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Los Angeles County value” are the county’s: the source publishes no figure for this city or town, and the county holding most of its residents stands in.

Strengths

Arts, entertainment and recreation · high20.8 /10k
99/100California 8.9 /10kUnited States 5.5 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsLos Angeles County value
Comfortable days · high44.9%
98/100California 34.8%United States 26.8%2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationLos Angeles County value
Public EV charging ports · high19.3 /10k
95/100California 17.4 /10kUnited States 7.6 /10kOct 2026U.S. Department of EnergyLos Angeles County value
Distance to an emergency room · low2.9 mi
94/100California 4.3 miUnited States 5.5 miJul 2026Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesLos Angeles County value
Average weekly wage · high$1,655
92/100California $1,865United States $1,5142025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsLos Angeles County value
Access to exercise opportunities · high97.9%
91/100California 94.3%United States 84.5%2022 & 2024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteLos Angeles County value

Weaknesses

Loneliness · high42.1%
1/100California 37.8%United States 33.2%2023Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimate
High school diploma or higher · low72.2%
1/100California 84.7%United States 89.6%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B15003
High ozone days · high75 days
1/100California 38 daysUnited States 7 days2022Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyLos Angeles County value
Fine particulate matter (PM2.5) · high10.6 µg/m³
1/100California 9.4 µg/m³United States 8.0 µg/m³2022Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyLos Angeles County value
Median Air Quality Index · high74
2/100California 602025U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyLos Angeles County value
Days with unhealthy air · high26.9%
2/100California 12.4%2025U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyLos Angeles County value

Trends

The largest changes over about five years, next to the country's over the same periods.

New homes permittedImproving
0.8 /1k (2021) → 2.6 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
+227%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
53.7% (2015-2019) → 65.4% (2020-2024)
+12 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
79.8% (2015-2019) → 91.2% (2020-2024)
+11 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Median household incomeImproving
$67,636 (2015-2019) → $88,201 (2020-2024)
+30%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
Bachelor's degree or higherImproving
12.9% (2015-2019) → 16.3% (2020-2024)
+3.4 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 32.1% → 35.7%
Rent as share of incomeWorsening
32.3% (2015-2019) → 35.4% (2020-2024)
+3.1 pts5 yearsCensus table B25071US 29.8% → 30.6%

What changed in five years

How each measure moved between two periods about five years apart, read against whether more or less is better, the published margin of error and the same change in other places.

Over about five years, Pico Rivera, California improved on 3 of 15 measures with a comparison and declined on 4. 8 moved within the margin of error and 0 barely changed.

Earlier (2015-2019)
Latest (2020-2024)
Lower standingHigher standing

Position is the place's standing among cities and towns: further right is better, whichever way the measure counts.

Improved3

Broadband+11 points79.8% → 91.2%
Household income+30%$67,636 → $88,201
Bachelor's++3.4 points12.9% → 16.3%

Declined4

Rent burden+12 points53.7% → 65.4%
Inequality+0.0380.401 → 0.439
Price / income+0.8×6.5× → 7.4×
Transit use−1.3 points2.8% → 1.5%

All 15 measures

Change of every measure of Pico Rivera, California between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	31.3 min2015-2019	30.3 min2020-2024	−1.0 min	Within the margin of error	60%
Bachelor's degree or higher	12.9%2015-2019	16.3%2020-2024	+3.4 points	Improved	55%
Broadband subscriptions	79.8%2015-2019	91.2%2020-2024	+11 points	Improved	66%
Child poverty rate	10.9%2015-2019	12.3%2020-2024	+1.4 points	Within the margin of error	33%
Effective property tax rate	0.76%2015-2019	0.71%2020-2024	−0 points	Within the margin of error	24%
High school diploma or higher	70.8%2015-2019	72.2%2020-2024	+1.4 points	Within the margin of error	52%
Home price to income ratio	6.5×2015-2019	7.4×2020-2024	+0.8×	Declined	29%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4012015-2019	0.4392020-2024	+0.038	Declined	22%
Median household income	$67,6362015-2019	$88,2012020-2024	+30%	Improved	56%
Poverty rate	8.8%2015-2019	10.3%2020-2024	+1.5 points	Within the margin of error	30%
Public transit commuters	2.8%2015-2019	1.5%2020-2024	−1.3 points	Declined	16%
Rent as share of income	32.3%2015-2019	35.4%2020-2024	+3.1 points	Within the margin of error	32%
Rent-burdened households	53.7%2015-2019	65.4%2020-2024	+12 points	Declined	20%
Unemployment rate	5.1%2015-2019	4.9%2020-2024	−0.3 points	Within the margin of error	55%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	10.5%2015-2019	10.6%2020-2024	+0.1 points	Within the margin of error	45%

“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 14640 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.

Sources: American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. Values are the latest and the one five years earlier of the same publisher dataset; datasets that changed publisher in between are never compared.

Survey estimates (American Community Survey) compare the two most recent 5-year windows that do not share years, so the margin of error of the difference holds. The 2015-2019 window predates the pandemic and 2020-2024 includes it.
A change counts only when it is larger than 1.645 times the square root of the two standard errors squared, summed (a 90% margin). Measures published without a margin must change by at least 5% to count.
“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 15651 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.
Standing is a percentile among the same places: 0 is the lowest value on the measure (or the worst when lower is better), 100 the best.

Cities and towns like Pico Rivera, California five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Pico Rivera, California in the earlier period, ranked by how many measures improved beyond the margin of error, minus how many declined. A comparison of published data, not a forecast and not advice.

For comparison, Pico Rivera, California itself moved −4.3 points in standing on average over the same 10 measures (standings of all places average about zero).

How the ranking works

Similarity is the root-mean-square difference of standings in the earlier period over the measures most places have. Places are ranked by measures that improved beyond the margin of error minus those that declined (a count that estimation noise in small places cannot inflate), then by the mean change of standing over the measures a place has in both periods. Only places with more improvements than declines and a rise in standing are listed. Standings are relative, so a place can improve in absolute terms and still lose standing.

Who lives here

Age, race and education of residents, from the American Community Survey. Shares are of all residents (age), residents of every origin (race) or adults 25 and over (education).

Age and sex

60,272 residents (±78)

Men
Women

80 and over
70–79
60–69

Income

How household income is spread, not just the middle: each bar is the share of households in that income range.

Household income

16,866 households (±562)

Pico Rivera, California
California share

Under $25k15%2,488
$25k–50k13%2,118
$50k–75k17%2,784

Homes

Who owns and who rents, what homes cost, and what the housing stock looks like.

Owners and renters

16,866 households (±562)

Pico Rivera, California
California share

Own71%11,893
Rent29%4,973

No change since 2015–2019 is larger than the margin of error.

Table view

Getting to work

How workers travel to their job and how long it takes them.

How people get to work

26,880 workers (±883)

Pico Rivera, California
California share

Drive alone76%20,442
Carpool9.9%2,650
Public transit1.5%†410

Jobs and pay

What the largest occupations here pay, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes pay by metro area, not by county or city. The metro area page lists its largest occupations and lets you look up any job.

Pay in the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA

Local businesses

Employer businesses and sole proprietors by industry, per resident and against the state and the nation. Counts of businesses next to counts of people, not a measure of demand.

The Census Bureau publishes business counts by county, not by city, so these are the figures of Los Angeles County, the county holding most of Pico Rivera's residents.

Los Angeles County has 304,988 employer establishments, 313 for every 10,000 residents (1.26× the US rate of 248; 1.19× California's), with 3,987,736 paid employees at an average annual pay of $75,135. The Census Bureau also counts 1,165,040 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 304,988; 1,165,040 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 313; US 248 · California 263
Paid employees: 3,987,736
Average annual pay: $75,135; US $68,342

Employer establishments, employees, average pay and nonemployers of Los Angeles County by industry, with the density per resident against the nation

Ambulatory health care services	30,830	31.7	1.52×More than typical	277,800	$68,847	53,534
Restaurants and other eating places	21,461	22.1	1.20×About typical	373,539	$30,093	5,079
Lessors of real estate	17,152	17.6	1.43×More than typical	69,681	$79,105	107,046
Management, scientific and technical consulting	11,436	11.8	1.75×More than typical	57,592	$103,308	40,903
Specialty trade contractors	10,621	10.9	0.70×Fewer than typical	97,612	$71,747	41,817
Offices of physicians	10,598	10.9	1.68×More than typical	62,592	$105,846	7,935
Limited-service restaurants	9,402	9.7	1.20×About typical	159,344	$26,291	1,900
Legal services	8,863	9.1	1.69×More than typical	60,647	$141,160	12,427
Full-service restaurants	8,214	8.4	1.10×About typical	169,457	$34,694	1,953
Offices of other health practitioners	7,524	7.7	1.27×More than typical	42,674	$42,762	21,994
Truck transportation	7,345	7.5	1.49×More than typical	43,158	$60,561	28,358
Motion picture and video industries	7,257	7.5	9.79×More than typical	115,687	$89,432	22,382

Rank places for an industry Open Los Angeles County

County Business Patterns (2023); Nonemployer Statistics (2024)

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 9,732,568 residents here, 336,755,052 in the United States. County Business Patterns counts establishments in 2023; the Nonemployer Statistics count businesses in 2024.
“More than typical” is a density at least 1.25 times the nation's per resident, “fewer” at most 0.8 times, with at least 10 establishments. It compares counts of businesses with counts of people: it says nothing about demand, incomes, size, quality or profit, and visitors and commuters are not residents.
The Census Bureau adds noise to employment and payroll to protect confidentiality, and withholds some figures: an industry with few establishments can show employees or pay as unavailable.
Industries overlap: a narrower industry (full-service restaurants) is part of a broader one (restaurants), so the rows do not add up.
Industries follow the North American Industry Classification System; the two surveys use different editions (NAICS 2017 and 2022), which this page matches industry by industry.

Federal contracts performed here

In FY2026, an estimated $728.8M of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Pico Rivera, California: $12,092 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $728.8M; +2,763% vs FY2025
Per resident: $12,092; US $1,994
Sole-source: 0.0%; US 30%
Single offer: 100%; US 8.8%

A signal is a reason to look closer, not evidence of wrongdoing: most sole-source awards are lawful and justified.

Top buying agencies

Department of the Army$731.6M100%
Department of Veterans Affairs$112.3K0.0%
Defense Logistics Agency$82.3K0.0%
Federal Prison Industries / Unicor$81.3K0.0%
Department of the Navy$25.1K0.0%
U.S. Customs and Border Protection$16.7K0.0%
United States Mint$11.5K0.0%
Bureau of Engraving and Printing$5,5760.0%

Top recipients

BARNARD CONSTRUCTION COMPANY, INCORPORATED$731.1M100%
GF-GEI IEPR JOINT VENTURE$518.3K0.1%
QUINN GROUP INC$109.4K0.0%
TROY SHEET METAL WORKS, INC.$81.3K0.0%
CAMERON ENERGY SERVICES CORP.$73.9K0.0%

Spending by fiscal year

1.6MFY2017
2.4MFY2018
3MFY2019
5.3MFY2020
21.1MFY2021
5.7MFY2022
5.7MFY2023
322KFY2024

Top industries (NAICS)

Other heavy and civil engineering construction · 2379$731.1M100%
Architectural, engineering, and related services · 5413$539.4K0.1%
Electrical equipment manufacturing · 3353$109.4K0.0%
Communications equipment manufacturing · 3342$66.3K0.0%
Navigational, measuring, electromedical, and control instruments manufacturing · 3345$39.8K0.0%
Ship and boat building · 3366$34.4K

Largest awards whose ZIP code lies mostly in Pico Rivera, California

WHITTIER NARROWS DAM IS OWNED BY THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT AND OPERATED AND MAINTAINED BY THE USACE LOS ANGELES DISTRICT (SPL) AND IS 11 MILES EAST OF DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES.$761.7M
BARNARD CONSTRUCTION COMPANY, INCORPORATED· Los Angeles County, CA· Construction & real property· Apr 25, 2025 – Jun 5, 2026· W912BV25CA002
INDEPENDENT COST VALIDATION IN SUPPORT OF THE WHITTIER NARROWS DAM SAFETY MODIFICATION PROJECT.$793.3K
GF-GEI IEPR JOINT VENTURE· Los Angeles County, CA· Construction & real property· Dec 2, 2024 – Feb 26, 2026· W912BV25F0008
COMMODITIES FOR USG FOOD DONATIONS: 2000010788/4100032285/BEEF FRESH BNLS BULK COMBO-20/2000 LB$0
ADD ENTERPRISES INC· Los Angeles County, CA· Other equipment & supplies· May 19, 2025 – Jun 24, 2026

Source: Federal contract transactions (Federal Procurement Data System) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov), data current to Oct 3, 2026, loaded Oct 3, 2026.

How this is estimated

Agencies report each contract action's place of performance as a county and a ZIP code. A ZIP code's money is split among the cities it covers by the share of its land inside each (Census 2020 ZIP code tabulation areas); the part outside city limits stays with the county.

The place of performance is what the contracting agency reports, often the contractor's office rather than where the work happens.
Shares are of land, not of people or businesses: a ZIP code that is mostly rural land but has its offices in town gives the town less than it should.
ZIP codes that are not mapped areas (post office boxes, the unique ZIP codes of large federal sites and companies) stay with their county, unless one city covers nearly all of it.
Counts of actions and awards include those only partly in Pico Rivera, California, so they do not add up across cities.

Pico Rivera, California's figures are part of those of Los Angeles County, CA ($14.2B in FY2026), never added to them: 5.1% of that total.

Grants and other federal assistance are counted by county here, not split among cities: Pico Rivera is mostly in Los Angeles County.

See federal money in Los Angeles County

Representation in Congress

Members serving today, with their record in the current Congress (party-unity votes cast with their caucus, roll calls missed). Not a grade.

Pico Rivera, California is split between congressional districts: each representative is shown with the share of its residents in their district (current boundaries).