Browse all San Bernardino County real estate.
Browse all San Bernardino County real estate.
Chino Hills is a hillside suburb in the southwestern corner of San Bernardino County, positioned where the 60, 71, and 91 freeways meet the edges of Orange and Los Angeles Counties. It is a planned residential city built almost entirely on former ranch and dairy land, and single-family detached houses make up the large majority of its housing stock. NeighborhoodScout reports single-family detached homes account for roughly 75 percent of the city’s units, which tells you most of what you need to know about the product here: this is a market of tract subdivisions, cul-de-sac neighborhoods, and a smaller layer of gated and golf-oriented enclaves.
The value proposition is straightforward. Buyers get newer housing built largely from the 1980s onward, one of the higher-performing districts in the Inland Empire in Chino Valley Unified, and a location that keeps Orange County and eastern Los Angeles County job centers within commuting distance without paying full coastal prices. NeighborhoodScout puts the median house value above 1.1 million dollars, so “less than the coast” does not mean inexpensive. It means a different tier of the same expensive region.
The listings below are organized by the individual neighborhoods and tracts inside Chino Hills. Browse them to see current inventory, or contact The Knight Group to talk through which pocket of the city actually fits how you live and what you plan to spend.
Chino Hills sits at the far southwestern tip of San Bernardino County. It shares borders with Los Angeles County to the west and Orange and Riverside Counties to the south, which is the geographic fact that drives the whole market. A house here can put a commuter into Diamond Bar, Brea, or Pomona quickly, and Ontario is a short drive north.
The terrain is genuinely hilly, which is not just branding. The city wraps around the western flank of the Chino Hills themselves, and elevation changes shape where the neighborhoods sit and which lots carry views. That topography also explains why so much of the surrounding land is open space rather than more rooftops, and why fire hazard mapping matters here in a way it does not in flatter inland cities.
Chino Hills incorporated on December 1, 1991. Before that it was unincorporated San Bernardino County land, and for most of its history it was ranches and dairies rather than subdivisions. That changed in the 1970s, when population pressure from neighboring counties pushed housing demand outward and developers converted the ranch land into tract housing and shopping centers. By the time the city incorporated in 1991, the population had already grown to roughly 42,000.
The city has kept growing since. Worldwide and census-based counts now put the population above 77,000. For a buyer, the practical takeaway is that the housing here is relatively young. You are generally looking at homes built from the 1980s onward, with pockets of newer construction, rather than the older prewar and midcentury stock you find closer to central Los Angeles.
Chino Hills is an expensive market by any national standard. NeighborhoodScout reports a median house value above 1.1 million dollars. HomeLight data cited a median sale price around 1.02 million dollars over a trailing twelve-month period, up about 2 percent from the prior year, with homes selling in roughly 40 days on average. Treat those figures as snapshots that move with the market rather than fixed numbers, and confirm current conditions before you set a budget or a list price.
Price varies widely inside the city. Entry-level condominiums and attached homes sit well below the detached-home median, while gated and golf-course communities and larger view lots run well above it. Household incomes support that spread: census-based data reports a median household income above 126,000 dollars, with a large share of households earning six figures. That income base is part of why the market holds up, but it does not make any single neighborhood a bargain. The right move is to price against the specific tract, not the city-wide median.
Chino Hills is also one of the more diverse suburbs in the region. Census-based data reports the largest resident groups as Asian at about 41 percent, Hispanic at about 27 percent, and White at about 24 percent, with a median age around 40. For buyers, that diversity shows up in the retail, dining, and school communities, and it is part of why demand for housing here stays broad rather than concentrated in a single buyer profile.
Chino Hills is a collection of named subdivisions and tracts rather than one uniform district. Several of them, including Payne Ranch, Oak Tree Downs, Western Hills, and Grande Pointe, are gated. Others are open, walkable tract neighborhoods organized around parks and schools. The pages below cover the specific communities where The Knight Group tracks inventory.
Los Serranos Ranch sits in the part of Chino Hills tied to the Los Serranos Country Club, the golf landmark that gave the area its name. The club opened in 1925 and its North Course is among the oldest in California, with a South Course added in 1964. Residential development in this part of the city accelerated through the 1980s and 1990s. If proximity to golf and one of the older recorded parts of Chino Hills matters to you, this is where to look.
Oak Tree Downs is one of the city’s gated communities. Gating changes the ownership experience in concrete ways: controlled access, shared responsibility for private streets and common areas, and a homeowners association whose rules and dues you should read before you write an offer. See the page for current listings and ask us for the association documents on any specific home.
Rolling Ridge sits in the western part of Chino Hills near Grand Avenue and Chino Hills Parkway, which gives it direct connections toward Diamond Bar and Brea. It is a hillside, family-oriented area, and its position near those arterials is a real advantage for commuters heading into Los Angeles County or Orange County.
Fairfield Ranch is a subdivision in the southeastern part of the city, near the Rolling Ridge corridor. Like most of Chino Hills, it is a planned tract neighborhood, and homes here trade on the same fundamentals that drive the rest of the city: schools, access, and newer construction. Check the page for what is currently listed.
Alterra is another southeastern Chino Hills neighborhood, located near the Rolling Ridge and Los Serranos areas. It rounds out the cluster of tracts on that side of the city. Browse the listings to compare it against Fairfield Ranch and Rolling Ridge, which sit nearby and often draw the same buyers.
Sonora Springs is one of the smaller named tracts within Chino Hills. Inventory in a compact community like this turns over less often, so if it is on your list, the practical strategy is to watch it closely and be ready to move when a home comes up. The page tracks what is currently available, and we can set you up to hear about new listings early.
Chino Hills is served by the Chino Valley Unified School District, which also covers the neighboring city of Chino and part of Ontario. The district spans roughly 88 square miles and educates about 26,000 students across four high schools plus junior high, elementary, and K-8 campuses. Strong public schools are one of the main reasons buyers with children target this city.
Within Chino Hills, the two comprehensive high schools most families ask about are Chino Hills High School, which opened in 2001, and Ruben S. Ayala High School on Peyton Avenue. School assignment depends on your specific address, and boundaries can change, so confirm the current attendance area for any home before you rely on a particular campus. We can pull the assigned schools for any listing you are considering.
Location is the practical draw here. Chino Hills sits at the junction of three freeways: the 60, the 71, and the 91. State Route 71, the Chino Valley Freeway, connects the city to Pomona and Corona and ties into the wider Inland Empire network, while the 60 and 91 handle regional east-west movement. That access puts job centers in Ontario, Brea, and Diamond Bar within a normal commute.
The trade-off is the one every Southern California suburb shares: those same freeways carry heavy peak-hour traffic, and a reasonable off-peak drive can stretch out considerably at rush hour. If your commute is fixed, test-drive it at the time you would actually travel before you commit to a specific side of the city. Where you land inside Chino Hills can change your daily drive by real minutes.
Chino Hills pairs suburban housing with a meaningful amount of open space and organized recreation. Chino Hills State Park covers more than 14,000 acres of hills and canyons on the city’s doorstep, with trails for hiking, mountain biking, and horseback riding. That protected land is a big part of the setting and a reason the hillsides stay green rather than fully built out.
For everyday amenities, the Shoppes at Chino Hills and the neighboring Commons anchor the city’s retail and dining, with national restaurant and shopping tenants. Big League Dreams, a sports park with fields modeled on famous Major League ballparks, opened in 2003 and remains a local fixture for organized athletics. The city also has a layer of golf, from the historic Los Serranos Country Club to the Greg Norman Signature course at the gated Vellano community. Between the state park, the retail centers, and the golf, the recreational base here is deeper than a typical tract suburb.
Two factors deserve real attention here. The first is wildfire exposure. CAL FIRE’s updated fire hazard severity zone mapping classifies tens of thousands of acres in and around Chino Hills, and reporting on those maps indicated that over 20,000 acres fell into the very high risk category, including large stretches of the Chino Hills State Park and nearby open space. Homes in a very high fire hazard zone carry defensible-space obligations, meaning owners must clear flammable material around the structure. Fire zone status can also affect insurance availability and cost. Before you buy, confirm whether a specific property sits in a designated zone and what that means for coverage.
The second is Mello-Roos. Chino Hills uses Community Facilities Districts, commonly called Mello-Roos, to finance public facilities, and the city has multiple such districts. A home inside one carries an additional special assessment on top of ordinary property taxes, which raises the true monthly cost of ownership. This is not a reason to avoid the city, but it is a line item you need to see in writing before you set a budget. We check Mello-Roos and HOA status on every property we show, so you are never surprised by a carrying cost after the fact.
Chino Hills tends to hold value because the fundamentals underneath it are durable: a strong school district, freeway access to multiple job markets, newer housing, and a high-income buyer base. Census-based data reports a median household income above 126,000 dollars, which supports demand even when rates rise. Homes have historically sold in roughly 40 days, per HomeLight data, which points to a market that moves but is not chaotic.
Whether it is a good buy for you depends on the specific home and neighborhood, not the city average. A gated golf-community house, a Mello-Roos tract home, and an attached condo are three very different financial pictures inside the same zip code. The honest answer requires running the numbers on the actual property. That is the conversation to have before you commit.
Chino Hills is in San Bernardino County, at its far southwestern corner, bordering Los Angeles, Orange, and Riverside Counties.
Chino Hills incorporated on December 1, 1991. Its population at incorporation was roughly 42,000 and has since grown past 77,000.
Chino Valley Unified School District serves Chino Hills. It spans about 88 square miles and educates around 26,000 students, and it includes Chino Hills High School and Ruben S. Ayala High School. Confirm the assigned campus for any specific address, since boundaries can change.
NeighborhoodScout reports a median house value above 1.1 million dollars, and HomeLight data cited a median sale price near 1.02 million dollars over a recent twelve-month period. Prices range widely by neighborhood, from attached homes well below that median to gated and golf-community homes well above it. Verify current figures before setting a budget.
Yes. Chino Hills finances public facilities through several Community Facilities Districts, commonly called Mello-Roos. Homes inside a district carry an added special assessment on top of standard property taxes, so check a property’s status before you buy.
Parts of it are. CAL FIRE’s updated maps classify large areas in and around Chino Hills, with over 20,000 acres designated very high fire hazard, much of it open space including the state park. Homes in a very high zone face defensible-space requirements and can see insurance impacts. Confirm any individual property’s designation.
Chino Hills sits at the junction of the 60, 71, and 91 freeways. State Route 71, the Chino Valley Freeway, links the city to Pomona and Corona, and the 60 and 91 handle regional access toward Orange County and the rest of the Inland Empire.
Several communities are gated, including Payne Ranch, Oak Tree Downs, Western Hills, and Grande Pointe. Gated homes come with association rules and dues, so review the governing documents on any specific property.
The Knight Group covers Chino Hills at the neighborhood level, not just the city level. That matters here because the difference between a gated Vellano home, a Los Serranos house near the golf course, and a Rolling Ridge tract home is the difference between three separate pricing and cost realities. We track inventory in the individual communities linked above and price each home against its actual comparables.
On any property you are considering, we confirm the details that change the real cost of ownership: Mello-Roos assessment status, HOA dues and rules for gated and attached homes, fire hazard zone designation and its insurance implications, and the current school assignment. On the sell side, we position a home against the specific tract it competes in rather than a city-wide average that can mislead. Browse the neighborhood listings below to see what is currently on the market, then contact The Knight Group to talk through which part of Chino Hills fits your budget, your commute, and your plans.
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