[4] The combined land area of the counties of the Inland Empire is larger than ten U.S. states—West Virginia, Maryland, Hawaii, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Connecticut, Delaware, and Rhode Island.

Agriculture declined through the 20th century, and since the 1970s a rapidly growing population, fed by families migrating in search of affordable housing, has led to more residential, industrial, and commercial development.

[4] What is now known as the Inland Empire was inhabited for thousands of years, prior to the late 18th century, by the Tongva, Taaqtam, Ivilyuqaletem and Payómkawichum Native Americans.The first American settlers, a group of Mormon pioneers, arrived over the Cajon Pass in 1851.

Although the Mormons left a scant six years later, recalled to Salt Lake City by Brigham Young during the church's Utah War with the U.S. government, other settlers soon followed.

The entire landmass of Southern California was subdivided according to the San Bernardino Meridian, which was first plotted as part of the Public Land Survey System in November 1852, by Col. Henry Washington.

Base Line Road, a major thoroughfare, today runs from Highland to San Dimas, intermittently along the absolute baseline coordinates plotted by Col.

[9] The arrival of rail and the importation of navel and Valencia orange trees in the 1870s touched off explosive growth, with the area quickly becoming a major center for citrus production.

[10][11][12] This agricultural boom continued with the arrival of water from the Colorado River and the rapid growth of Los Angeles in the early 20th century, with dairy farming becoming another staple industry.

Still, the region endured as the key part of the Southern California "citrus belt" until the end of World War II, when a new generation of real-estate developers bulldozed acres of agricultural land to build suburbs.

In the early 1990s, the loss of the region's military bases and reduction of nearby defense industries due to the end of the Cold War led to a local economic downturn.

[13][14] The region as a whole had partially recovered from this downturn by the start of the 21st century through the development of warehousing, shipping, logistics and retail industries, primarily centered around Ontario.

[36] These centers operate as part of the system that transports finished goods and materials from the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach to destinations to the north and east such as Las Vegas, Phoenix, and Denver.

[37] During the late 2010s and early 2020s, Amazon, the largest private employer in the region, has rapidly expanded its facilities and warehouses there, responding to explosive growth in online retailing and shipping and increasing traffic and air pollution.

The Inland Empire ranks 25th in the nation with a 2011 GDP of $109.8 billion, roughly a third of San Francisco–Oakland–Berkeley, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area despite their close population numbers.

With air pollution from diesel-powered transport trucks being a serious and cumulative concern for human health, an effort was made to impose a 1,000-foot buffer zone (separation distance between residential and commercial land uses) for new construction.

Although the region saw an uptick in jobs over the past decade, it is not a heavy employment center, and many residents commute to Los Angeles and Orange counties for their work.

With a lack of substantial public transportation in the Greater Los Angeles Area, this has led to traffic congestion and degradation in air quality for the Inland Empire.

Lastly, the fast pace at which development occurs versus the limited ability of government to respond to changes means that it could easily take years, if not decades, for a viable solution (such as new roads, transit systems, or pollution controls) to go into effect.

In 2007, the Rialto city council petitioned the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for Superfund status to clean up the origin site.

The Inland Empire population grew as a result of affordable housing, at least relative to the rest of Southern California, but most of the higher paying jobs are located in Los Angeles, San Diego and Orange counties.

Of the seven lines that Metrolink operates, four of them directly serve the Inland Empire: Although a robust transit network has been lacking in the region for decades, steps are being made toward developing one in the future.

The largest of these, the Santa Ana River bicycle path, currently connects Corona to Huntington Beach, and is eventually projected to stretch for 84 miles all the way to Redlands when completed.

[79] The population of the Greater Los Angeles area (which includes the Inland Empire) is about 18 million people according to the 2010 United States Census, and is the second largest metropolitan region in the country.

Survey respondents cited "nice living area", "good climate", and "affordable housing" as the top positive factors in assessing their respective communities.

[113] The Victoria Gardens Cultural Center, which is owned and operated by the City of Rancho Cucamonga, opened in the Fall of 2006 providing theatre, concerts and family entertainment to the region.

Established bands from the IE include Alien Ant Farm, Hepcat, The Bellrays, and the Voodoo Glow Skulls, from Riverside, and Cracker from Redlands, and The Mountain Goats from Chino.

Local hip-hop artists such as Suga Free, Saint Dog, 40 Glocc, Young Noble from the Outlawz, J.J. Fad, Noa James, Lil Xan and A Lighter Shade of Brown have brought about attention to the growing Hip hop community in and around the region.

In addition to PBS and original, local content, First Nations Experience (FNX),[123] KVCR's sister station, also broadcasts programming about the indigenous peoples and Native Americans to the Inland Empire.

[124][125] While there are no large film production companies or studios based in the Inland Empire, on-location shoots accounted for a total economic impact of $65.2 million in the two-county region in 2006.

[127] Select scenes from the films Tough Guys, Constantine,[128] The Island, and Tenet[129] were also shot in the Inland Empire's ghost town of Eagle Mountain.