The Inland Empire commercial real estate market shows diverse tenant interest with strong demand across retail, industrial, and office space. According to TenantBase data, 45% of all space searches in the past year were for storefronts, followed by warehouse space at 36% and office at 19%. This distribution highlights the region’s dual identity as both a consumer-driven and logistics-heavy economy. Location-specific data further emphasizes this diversity, with Riverside receiving the highest concentration of tenant searches, followed by Temecula, Rancho Cucamonga, and Corona—each reflecting varying commercial dynamics from retail corridors to warehouse-adjacent zones.
Tenant behavior in the region points to a strong preference for flexibility. Lease terms of three years or less were selected in 60.6% of office space searches, 57.3% of warehouse searches, and 40% of storefront space searches. Only 5% of office searchers sought leases beyond five years, compared to 9.7% in industrial and a significantly higher 23.6% in retail. This suggests retail tenants are more inclined toward long-term commitments, while office and industrial users maintain short-term strategies to accommodate shifting workforce models and inventory demand cycles.
The Inland Empire commercial real estate market offers broad regional appeal, strong infrastructure, and affordable leasing environment make it one of Southern California’s most flexible and scalable markets. From logistics hubs in Ontario and Fontana to growing suburban office clusters in Riverside and Murrieta, the data reveals a healthy, varied demand base. TenantBase trends reinforce the market’s attractiveness for businesses seeking space with short- to mid-term lease optionality, enabling operators to adapt quickly to changing conditions while leveraging the area’s economic and geographic advantages.
Popular Properties in the Inland Empire Market
E Parkridge Ave
1,556 SF
$200 /mo
Warehouse
Terra Vista Business Park
715 – 1,803 SF
$1,400 – $3,600 /mo
General
Fairway Commerce Center
323 – 9,393 SF
$500 – $14,600 /mo
General
N Maple St
1,600 SF
$2,100 /mo
ManufacturingWarehouse
Goldmine Ave
8,437 SF
$900 /mo
Warehouse
W Benedict St
980 SF
$1,000 /mo
Manufacturing
W. State St.
2,000 SF
- /mo
Manufacturing
Land - 3.80 Acres With 6,000 SF Building
6,000 – 165,528 SF
- /mo
Warehouse
Arrow Route, Suite A
1,760 SF
$3,000 /mo
General
Cedar Village Shopping Center
2,900 SF
$5,100 /mo
Storefront
N Waterman Ave
2,712 SF
$2,712,000 /mo
GeneralMedical
Redlands Corporate Center
6,591 SF
- /mo
Haven Ave
3,091 – 4,881 SF
$5,700 – $9,000 /mo
General
Rialto Commerce Center
609,888 SF
- /mo
Global Corporate Center
2,256 – 10,223 SF
$5,300 – $25,000 /mo
General
About TenantBase
TenantBase is a technology platform built specifically for tenants. We make the process to find and lease space easier by combining our unique technology with experienced local commercial real estate brokers.
The Inland Empire area has been a steady draw for businesses in need of Southern California industrial space, since, in comparison to Orange County, there are far more options and lower prices. Corona, about 45 miles from Los Angeles, is a key representation, with more than 34 million square feet of industrial space inside the city limits (more than 10 times its inventory of office space).
That comparative savings and availability may not last — the Inland Empire is growing fast, with the major appetite for that space spurring an annual growth rate of more than 10 percent leading into 2017. Beyond industrial square footage, there’s a lot for local businesses to like in Corona. For one, city government is encouraging growth with efforts like the Export Trade Assistance Partnership, a free training series co-sponsored by the U.S. Small Business Administration, designed to help growing local businesses to expand globally.
Ontario’s agricultural roots are still prevalent in the city, from its healthy share of farmland to the Historic Sunkist District around the former Sunkist Fruit Packing Distribution Center and famed, historic Graber Olive House. But like the rest of the Inland Empire, it’s growing and broadening at a rapid pace, in no small part due to its convenient location, 35 miles from downtown Los Angeles and with easy access to three interstates, two railroads and the country’s 15th busiest cargo airport, Ontario International Airport.
The service industry is a major part of Ontario’s economy, but warehousing and distribution have been big drivers too (Sam’s Club, Target and AutoZone centers are among the city’s major employers). Organizations hunting for the expanse of industrial space that can accommodate those businesses find far better luck in Ontario/the Inland area than in Orange County. City leaders are expecting the city on the whole to follow that lead, doubling its population in the next two decades to more than 300,000 residents.
The Inland Empire broadly and Rancho Cucamonga specifically have been in steady industrial-expansion mode, with tens of millions of square feet of warehouse and logistics space coming online over the past few years. And there’s no indication of a slowdown. In early 2017, the area led the nation in under-construction industrial space , with millions of square feet in the works in Rancho Cucamonga alone. The recent inventory growth has helped draw in high-profile additions like Georgia-Pacific Corporation, who locked down well over a million square feet in Rancho Cucamonga in the past few years.
Rancho Cucamonga isn’t all business, though, and that’s long been true. Its location at the base of the San Gabriel mountains adds scenic charm, and set the stage for the revered Cucamonga Valley winemaking region (while its heyday has passed, wine tasting remains a local attraction). The 147-acre Victoria Gardens town center has become a regionally beloved destination for shopping, eating and socializing, too.
Popular Properties in the Rancho Cucamonga Neighborhood
The Riverside County seat and namesake, Riverside styles itself as the “City of Arts and Innovation,” and delivers on both. Residents interested in the former have a grab-bag of options, including the Riverside County Philharmonic and Riverside Art Museum. The city’s work toward the latter was recognized in Governing magazine, as one of the nation’s top five “Equipt to Innovate” cities in 2017, for excelling at strategic planning, including sustainability and business partnership initiatives.
Another Riverside benefit to businesses in need of a skilled workforce: The city recently ranked among the top U.S. cities for retaining university/four-year college graduates, with about 70 percent of the area’s students staying in Riverside, diploma in hand. Unsurprisingly, that’s all fueling significant business-sector growth — although in the county since 2010, rents have risen about 50 percent.