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Corona is Spanish for crown or wreath. Originally called South Riverside, citizens wanted to distinguish their city from the larger city of Riverside to the north. When it came time to incorporate the city a number of different names were considered, but the name Corona was chosen to play upon a unique feature of the city, the one-mile diameter drive that circled the center of the town.

Corona was founded at the height of the Southern California citrus boom in 1886, and is situated at the upper end of the Santa Ana River Canyon, a significant pass through the Santa Ana Mountains. The town of Corona was once the "Lemon Capital of the World". A museum there presents the lemon's former role in the local economy. The city derived its name (and its nickname, "The Circle City") from the unique layout of its streets, with a standard grid enclosed by the circular Grand Boulevard, 2.75 miles (4.43 kilometers) in circumference. The street layout was designed by Hiram Clay Kellogg, a civil engineer from Anaheim who was an influential figure in the early development of Orange County.

Corona was established as a town by the South Riverside Land and Water Company. The company was incorporated in 1886; founding members included ex-Governor of Iowa Samuel Merrill, R.B. Taylor, George L. Joy, A.S. Garretson, and Adolph Rimpau. Originally a citrus growers' organization, it purchased the lands of Rancho La Sierra of Bernardo Yorba, and the Rancho Temescal grant and the colony of South Riverside was laid out. They also secured the water rights to Temescal Creek, its tributaries and Lee Lake. Dams and pipelines were built to carry the water to the colony. In 1889, the Temescal Water Company was incorporated, to supply water for the new colony. This company purchased all the water-bearing lands in the Temescal valley and began drilling artesian wells.

Originally located in San Bernardino County, the city was named "South Riverside" and received its post office in that name on either May 27 or August 11, 1887 with Charles H. Cornell as the town's first postmaster. In 1893, South Riverside became part of the new Riverside County. In 1896, the city was renamed "Corona" for its circular Grand Boulevard, where three international automobile races were held in 1913, 1914 and 1916.

The city of Corona has been popular among celebrities drawn to its upscale areas and relative privacy compared to Los Angeles. Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz spent time at their ranch, located in north Corona, and played golf often at the Cresta Verde Golf Course in the northeastern section of the city. After their divorce, Mr. Arnaz continued to live in Corona.

In recent years Corona has been known as the "Gateway to the Inland Empire". Prior to the 1980s, the city was largely an agricultural community, dominated by citrus orchards, ranches, and dairy farms. High real estate prices in Los Angeles and Orange counties made the area's land desirable to developers and industrialists, and by the late 1990s Corona was considered a major suburb of Los Angeles.^{[citation needed]}

Housing development in the city has been accelerated by access to the area via the SR 91, with many families leaving Orange County to larger, more affordable housing available in the city. The construction of the nearby SR 71 has linked Corona to the Pomona and San Gabriel valleys. Due to traffic caused by Corona's considerable growth, toll lanes have been built along the 91 freeway, with future toll lane expansions under construction and in the planning stages along Interstate 15. While there were talks to construct a proposed 10 mi (16 km) automobile and rail tunnel under Santiago Peak to connect Interstate 15 in Corona with Interstate 5 and SR 55 in Orange County to reduce commuter traffic on the crowded 91 freeway, this concept has been shelved indefinitely.

In 2002, the city government considered an initiative to secede from Riverside County and form an autonomous Corona County because the city government and some residents were dissatisfied with how services were handled in nearby areas. The effort was also considered by areas in other cities in the western part of the county as far south as Murrieta. Whether nearby cities such as Norco would have been included in the new county are unknown. The proposed county would have been bordered by San Bernardino County to the northwest, and by Orange County to the west, but it never came to fruition.

Corona is located in western Riverside County, east of Orange County.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 38.9 square miles (101 km²), of which, 38.8 square miles (100 km²) of it is land and 0.1 square miles (0.26 km²) of it (0.27%) is water.

Corona experiences a warm Mediterranean climate (Köppen climate classification CSa) and has mild to cool winters and hot summers. Most of the rainfall (as in all of Southern California) occurs during winter and early spring.

Winter days are pleasant, with the average highs staying in the mid to upper 60s. But compared to other areas in Southern California, winter lows are colder, with common frost and chilly mornings. Snowfall within city limits is rare. Snow flurries will occasionally fall, usually once every other year, but it very rarely snows where it accumulates. The nearby Santa Ana Mountains receive a dusting of snow a few times each winter.

Spring brings pleasant weather with daytime temperatures in the mid to upper 70s, and nighttime lows in the upper 40s. Spring showers are common during the beginning of the season, while becoming a rarity by late May.

Summertime is hot, with highs averaging in the low to mid 90s. During the hottest months, daytime temperatures in Corona can exceed 100 degrees. In early summer, Corona receives common overcast weather known as "May Gray" and "June Gloom". Summer thunderstorms are sporadic and usually happen between July and September from the North American Monsoons, bringing increased humidity and scattered thunderstorms.

Autumn features warm days and sharply cooler evenings, but can be windy due to the Santa Ana winds, blowing in 2 or 3 times a year from October to December.

The 2010 United States Census reported that Corona had a population of 152,374. The population density was 3,914.0 people per square mile (1,511.2/km²). The racial makeup of Corona was 90,925 (59.7%) White (40.1% Non-Hispanic White), 8,934 (5.9%) African American, 1,153 (0.8%) Native American, 16,205 (10.6%) Asian, 552 (0.4%) Pacific Islander, 28,003 (18.4%) from other races, and 7,759 (5.1%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 66,447 persons (41.9%); 33.7% of Corona's population are Mexican-American, 2.1% Puerto Rican, 1.2% Cuban, 1.2% Salvadoran, 1.1% Guatemalan, 0.5% Colombian, 0.5% Peruvian, 0.5% Argentine, 0.3% Honduran, 0.2% Nicaraguan, and 0.2% Ecuadorian. Among Asian-Americans, 2.3% of Corona's population were Filipino, 2.1% Vietnamese, 1.7% Korean, 1.4% Indian-Americans, 1.1% Chinese, 0.7% Japanese, 0.4% Pakistani, 0.2% Thai, and 0.1% Bangladeshi. Among The second largest group of Corona's population is made up of Caucasian-Americans; the largest groups were 11.1% German-American, 6.7% Irish, 6.2% English, 4.0% Italian, 2.7% French, 1.6% Polish, 1.3% Dutch, 1.2% Norwegian, 1.1% Scottish, 1.1% Swedish. Middle Eastern/North African (MENA) people made up 2.5% of the population.

The Census reported that 151,863 people (99.7% of the population) lived in households, 229 (0.2%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 282 (0.2%) were institutionalized.

There were 44,950 households, out of which 22,735 (50.6%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 27,357 (60.9%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 5,971 (13.3%) had a female householder with no husband present, 3,004 (6.7%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 2,690 (6.0%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 360 (0.8%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 6,455 households (14.4%) were made up of individuals, and 2,224 (4.9%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.38. There were 36,332 families (80.8% of all households); the average family size was 3.72.

The population was spread out, with 45,674 people (30.0%) under the age of 18, 15,504 people (10.2%) aged 18 to 24, 44,215 people (29.0%) aged 25 to 44, 35,801 people (23.5%) aged 45 to 64, and 11,180 people (7.3%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32.5 years. For every 100 females, there were 97.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.5 males.

There were 47,174 housing units at an average density of 1,211.8 per square mile (467.9/km²), of which 30,210 (67.2%) were owner-occupied, and 14,740 (32.8%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 2.3%; the rental vacancy rate was 5.3%. 103,170 people (67.7% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 48,693 people (32.0%) lived in rental housing units.

During 2009–2013, Corona had a median household income of $77,123, with 10.8% of the population living below the federal poverty line.

As of the census of 2000, there were 124,996 people, 37,839 households, and 30,384 families residing in the city. The population density was 3,555.5 people per square mile (1,372.7/km²). There were 39,271 housing units at an average density of 1,117.3 per square mile (431.4/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 75.0% White, 6.4% Black or African American, 0.9% Native American, 7.5% Asian, 0.3% Pacific Islander, 17.5% from other races, and 5.3% from two or more races. 25.5% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 37,839 households, out of which 49.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 63.8% were married couples living together, 11.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 19.7% were non-families. 14.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 3.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.3 and the average family size was 3.6.

In the city, the population was spread out, with 33.4% under the age of 18, 8.9% from 18 to 24, 35.1% from 25 to 44, 16.8% from 45 to 64, and 5.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 30 years. For every 100 females, there were 98.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.6 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $98,615, and the median income for a family was $83,505 (these figures had risen to $88,620 and $95,450 respectively as of a 2007 estimate). Males had a median income of $44,752 versus $31,884 for females. The per capita income for the city was $21,001. About 6.0% of families and 8.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 10.1% of those under age 18 and 7.3% of those age 65 or over.