Cruise east from L.A. and, in an hour (or two, because traffic), you’ll find California’s stealthy, ongoing success story: Riverside. The birthplace of the citrus industry is determined to live up to its title as the City of Arts and Innovation. A steadily growing tech sector is a testament to its hard work, as is the #4 Business Ecosystem ranking. The arrival of innovative, talent-hungry companies—like autonomous shuttle company Ohmio—bodes well for the future of the “Inland Empire”. But this is a city of arts, too, and Riverside is the vibrant, multicultural metro to deliver. It’s home to the Riverside Metropolitan Museum (its Museums ranking sits at #76) and, as of 2022, the Cheech Marin Center for Chicano Art and Culture. The city boasts one of the nation’s most ethnically diverse populations, with citizens of Hispanic descent making up 55% of the local population and 46% of residents speaking a language other than English. Steady growth, the 6th-best healthcare in the country and the University of California, Riverside (ranked #30 in our University subcategory) continue to draw talent from California and beyond, ready to grow in this dynamic second city.