Inland Empire population inflows
Migration from LA into the Inland Empire is accelerating homebuying and raising local density — a housing update video and social posts flagged steady buyer demand and low inventory driving the move reported reported. That demographic shift is creating predictable tailwinds for last‑mile fulfillment and regional distribution demand.
Riverside–San Bernardino’s metro population ticked up about 1.39% in 2024 to roughly 2,631,000 residents (macrotrends.net), and local coverage flagged the two counties adding more than 22,000 people in a single recent year. (sfgate.com) Inland Empire single‑family median prices rose about 4.4% year‑over‑year in 2024 to roughly $595,000, according to California Association of Realtors regional data (ktla.com), while Riverside County’s 2025 months‑of‑supply averaged about 4.4 months—evidence of tight resale stock despite ongoing new‑home starts. (stacker.com) A June 2024 CSUSB study tied housing growth to shifting travel and delivery patterns in the region, documenting the nexus between new residential development and transportation/accessibility pressures in the Inland Empire (report published June 2024) (csusb.edu), and national last‑mile research shows ~60% of Prime orders were delivered same‑ or next‑day in early 2024, reinforcing demand for nearer‑in distribution nodes. (linklogistics.com) Industrial fundamentals are diverging: availability in the Inland Empire jumped to a 14‑year high near 11.7% after 4.3M SF of Q4 2025 deliveries, and roughly 50M SF now sits vacant across the market per Colliers’ Q4 2025 report. (colliers.com) Despite higher availability, the region still produced large strategic deals—CBRE counted 14 of the nation’s top 100 industrial leases in 2025 totaling about 11.8M SF, and Amazon alone signed multiple million‑square‑foot leases in the Inland Empire during the recent cycle. (cbre.com) Rent and take‑price pressure are visible: CBRE’s Q4 2025 figures show taking lease rates in the IE Core fell to $1.03 NNN per SF per month (down $0.06 QOQ and ~11% YOY), while net absorption turned negative in Q4 2025 after a year of lumpy submarket performance. (cbre.com)
