Census-designated place · Los Angeles County, California

Rowland Heights, California

Rowland Heights is a census-designated place in Los Angeles County, California, part of the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA metro area. It has 45,911 residents. Rowland Heights, California has a quality-of-life score of 38 out of 100 (low), ranking #9,780 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within California it ranks #535 of 1,062 cities and towns. It ranks best on adult obesity (low), arts, entertainment and recreation (high) and depression (low). It ranks worst on loneliness (high), home price to income ratio (high) and high ozone days (high).

38Low

Quality-of-life score: #9,780 of 15,651 cities and towns
California: #535 of 1,062 in CA
Population: 45,911 (2020-2024)
Land area: 13 mi²
Density: 3,510.9 /mi²
FIPS code: 0663218

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 75 of 80 indicators, with the default “Explorer” weights.

Open in the map

Scores by category

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

Safety29#11,039/15,637
Economy55#7,096/15,631
Housing1#14,799/14,977
Health83#2,667/15,609
Healthcare71#4,562/15,650
Environment2#15,107/15,453
Education19#12,641/15,649
Infrastructure75#3,881/15,650
Community22#12,188/15,651
Leisure & amenities86#2,129/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Rowland Heights, 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

Adult obesity · low19.0%
100/100California 30.4%United States 38.2%2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteModel-based estimate
Arts, entertainment and recreation · high20.8 /10k
99/100California 8.9 /10kUnited States 5.5 /10k2025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsLos Angeles County value
Depression · low14.9%
98/100California 20.5%United States 20.7%2023Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimate
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

Weaknesses

Loneliness · high42.4%
1/100California 37.8%United States 33.2%2023Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimate
Home price to income ratio · high9.9×
1/100California 7.4×United States 4.1×2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25077
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.

PopulationFalling
50,347 (2015-2019) → 45,911 (2020-2024)
−8.8%5 yearsCensus table B01003US 328,329,953 → 340,003,797
Bachelor's degree or higherWorsening
39.7% (2015-2019) → 36.1% (2020-2024)
−3.6 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 32.1% → 35.7%
Home price to income ratioWorsening
8.4× (2015-2019) → 9.9× (2020-2024)
+18%5 yearsCensus table B25077US 3.5× → 4.1×
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
91.3% (2015-2019) → 94.8% (2020-2024)
+3.5 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Rent as share of incomeWorsening
33.9% (2015-2019) → 36.6% (2020-2024)
+2.7 pts5 yearsCensus table B25071US 29.8% → 30.6%
Poverty rateWorsening
9.7% (2015-2019) → 12.4% (2020-2024)
+2.7 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 12.3% → 12.1%

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, Rowland Heights, California improved on 3 of 15 measures with a comparison and declined on 3. 8 moved within the margin of error and 1 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

Uninsured−2.3 points10.6% → 8.2%
Broadband+3.5 points91.3% → 94.8%
Household income+13%$75,587 → $85,617

Declined3

Price / income+1.5×8.4× → 9.9×
Bachelor's+−3.6 points39.7% → 36.1%
Inequality+0.0410.438 → 0.479

All 15 measures

Change of every measure of Rowland Heights, California between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	32.8 min2015-2019	32.9 min2020-2024	+0.0 min	Within the margin of error	47%
Bachelor's degree or higher	39.7%2015-2019	36.1%2020-2024	−3.6 points	Declined	10%
Broadband subscriptions	91.3%2015-2019	94.8%2020-2024	+3.5 points	Improved	23%
Child poverty rate	13.6%2015-2019	16.0%2020-2024	+2.4 points	Within the margin of error	29%
Effective property tax rate	0.86%2015-2019	0.75%2020-2024	−0.1 points	Little change	37%
High school diploma or higher	86.3%2015-2019	85.2%2020-2024	−1.1 points	Within the margin of error	22%
Home price to income ratio	8.4×2015-2019	9.9×2020-2024	+1.5×	Declined	9%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4382015-2019	0.4792020-2024	+0.041	Declined	20%
Median household income	$75,5872015-2019	$85,6172020-2024	+13%	Improved	21%
Poverty rate	9.7%2015-2019	12.4%2020-2024	+2.7 points	Within the margin of error	22%
Public transit commuters	1.7%2015-2019	1.7%2020-2024	−0 points	Within the margin of error	24%
Rent as share of income	33.9%2015-2019	36.6%2020-2024	+2.7 points	Within the margin of error	35%
Rent-burdened households	59.2%2015-2019	59.8%2020-2024	+0.6 points	Within the margin of error	54%
Unemployment rate	5.9%2015-2019	6.1%2020-2024	+0.3 points	Within the margin of error	43%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	10.6%2015-2019	8.2%2020-2024	−2.3 points	Improved	71%

“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 Rowland Heights, California five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Rowland Heights, 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, Rowland Heights, California itself moved −6.6 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

45,911 residents (±1,991)

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

15,095 households (±631)

Rowland Heights, California
California share

Under $25k15%2,294
$25k–50k15%2,207
$50k–75k14%2,177

Homes

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

Owners and renters

15,095 households (±631)

Rowland Heights, California
California share

Own68%10,265
Rent32%4,830

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Own (+4.2 points).

Table view

Getting to work

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

How people get to work

21,341 workers (±1,090)

Rowland Heights, California
California share

Drive alone69%14,664
Carpool13%2,785
Public transit1.7%†368

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 Rowland Heights'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 $6.7M of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Rowland Heights, California: $145 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $6.7M; +73% vs FY2025
Per resident: $145; US $1,994
Sole-source: 6.4%; US 30%
Single offer: 8.9%; 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

U.S. Customs and Border Protection$6M91%
Office of Procurement Operations$397.7K6.0%
Defense Logistics Agency$144.9K2.2%
Federal Prison System / Bureau of Prisons$42.5K0.6%
Federal Bureau of Investigation$15.4K0.2%
Federal Law Enforcement Training Center$11.5K0.2%
Bureau of Engraving and Printing$7,1270.1%
U.S. Coast Guard$2,4140.0%

Top recipients

ASTROPHYSICS INC$6.5M98%
SODERBERG MANUFACTURING COMPANY, INC.$81.4K1.2%
H C MERCHANDISERS, INC.$51.5K0.8%
WEST COAST WIRE ROPE & RIGGING, INC.$9,7040.1%
ACTEK ENTERPRISES, INC.$4,6470.1%

Spending by fiscal year

1.4MFY2017
2.2MFY2018
2.2MFY2019
1.6MFY2020
7.6MFY2021
1.3MFY2022
1.2MFY2023
2M

Top industries (NAICS)

Navigational, measuring, electromedical, and control instruments manufacturing · 3345$6.1M92%
Scientific research and development services · 5417$397.7K6.0%
Motor vehicle parts manufacturing · 3363$37.4K0.6%
Other electrical equipment and component manufacturing · 3359$30.4K0.5%
Engine, turbine, and power transmission equipment manufacturing · 3336$23.4K0.4%
Electric lighting equipment manufacturing · 3351

Largest awards whose ZIP code lies mostly in Rowland Heights, California

TWO MICRON WAVELENGTH FIBER-COUPLED SEMICONDUCTOR LASERS, SINGLE-MODE CONTINUOUS-WAVE INP-BASED PHOTONIC CRYSTAL SURFACE EMITTING LASERS$1.4M
ADTECH PHOTONICS, INC.· Los Angeles County, CA· Research & development· Jul 2, 2025 – Jun 12, 2026· FA237725CB010
HOIST RING$12.2K
WEST COAST WIRE ROPE & RIGGING, INC.· Los Angeles County, CA· Weapons, aircraft, ships & vehicles· May 13, 2026 – May 13, 2026· SPMYM226P7209
HOIST RING$4,320
ACTEK ENTERPRISES, INC.· Los Angeles County, CA· Weapons, aircraft, ships & vehicles· Jun 9, 2026 – Jun 9, 2026· SPMYM226P7434

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 Rowland Heights, California, so they do not add up across cities.

Rowland Heights, California's figures are part of those of Los Angeles County, CA ($14.2B in FY2026), never added to them: 0.0% of that total.

Grants and other federal assistance are counted by county here, not split among cities: Rowland Heights 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.

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