Riverside is a large city located in the Inland Empire (California) in Southern California. It is also the county seat of Riverside County, California, United States. The city is named for the nearby Santa Ana River, and is the birthplace of the California citrus production. As of 2008, Riverside has an estimated population of 311,575. MONEY Magazine: Best places to live 2006: Riverside, CA snapshot] Riverside is the List of United States cities by population city in the United States, 12th largest city in California, the largest city in California's Inland Empire (California) region, the fourth largest inland city in California, the List of...

Riverside is a large city located in the Inland Empire (California) in Southern California. It is also the county seat of Riverside County, California, United States. The city is named for the nearby Santa Ana River, and is the birthplace of the California citrus production. As of 2008, Riverside has an estimated population of 311,575. MONEY Magazine: Best places to live 2006: Riverside, CA snapshot] Riverside is the List of United States cities by population city in the United States, 12th largest city in California, the largest city in California's Inland Empire (California) region, the fourth largest inland city in California, the List of United States metropolitan areas metropolitan area in the nation and part of the Greater Los Angeles Area Combined Statistical Area in the country. The city anticipates that the population of Riverside will surpass 320,000 by 2010. Riverside is one of the fastest growing cities in the U.S. Riverside is also one of the best places to live according to Money Magazine.

Compared with other cities in Southern California, real estate prices in Riverside are significantly lower than those in adjacent counties. This has led to steady growth in Riverside. Consequently, this has also contributed to heavy traffic as residents from Riverside commute to job centers in Orange County, California and Los Angeles, California.

In the 2000s, Riverside has been listed by various research groups as having some of the United States most severe air pollution and congestion. Smart Growth America lists Riverside as the most sprawling city in the nation. However, according to the United States Bureau of the Census, the corresponding Riverside-San Bernardino urbanized area had a population density of 3,400 per square mile in 2000, slightly above that of Portland, Oregon, which is often cited as an example of having contained urban sprawl (suburbanization). Riverside is also the 20th most congested city in the United States because of traffic, this has decreased though, Riverside used to be before number 20.

Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of, of which, 78.1 square miles (202.3 km²) of it is land and 0.3 square miles (0.7 km²) of it is water. The total area is 0.36% water. Downtown Riverside sits on an elevation of 860 feet. There are some hills in the city limits of Riverside. Riverside is surrounded by small and large mountains. Some of which get snow during the colder months of the year.

Demographics


These Statistics are from 2000 and need to be updated to 2007 via the U.S. Census Bureau Website