Last updated January 13, 2026
Hemet is located in the San Jacinto Valley, sharing the valley with the City of San Jacinto. Hemet is not located in Hemet Valley, the valley where Lake Hemet was built, later renamed Thomas Valley, finally renamed Garner Valley in 1905.
The Santa Fe Railway Depot, one of the oldest buildings in town and home of the Hemet Museum, was designated California Point of Interest P711 on November 22, 1988.
During World War II, the Ryan School of Aeronautics (now the Hemet-Ryan Airport) trained approximately 6,000 Army Air Force pilots. Among the students in the class of 1942 was Chuck Yeager, who later became the first pilot to break the sound barrier.
Hemet is the 85th largest city in California by population with 89,833 residents as of the 2020 US Census. East Hemet, an unincorporated census-designated place, is 360th with 19,432 residents.
Hemet is the 108th largest city in California by area with a total area of 29.28 sq mi (75.84 km²). East Hemet is 667th with a total area of 5.21 sq mi (13.49 km²).
Hemet has five sister cities:
- Bácum, Sonora, Mexico
- Cootamundra, New South Wales, Australia
- Ebeltoft, Denmark
- Kushimoto, Wakayama Prefecture, Japan
- Marumori, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan
Hemet received the annual Tree City USA designation for 2025 from the Arbor Day Foundation. The award was created in 1976 and as of 2025, Hemet has received the award 38 times.
The Hemet Maze Stone is a prehistoric petroglyph carved into a large boulder. Its intricate, labyrinth-like design is believed to have been created by local indigenous people hundreds of years ago. The exact meaning of the carvings remains a mystery to this day.
Hemet made U.S. News & World Report’s list of “Best Places to Live in California in 2025–2026.” It was ranked 158th. There are 483 cities in California, so Hemet made it into the top third.
Hemet is famous for the Ramona Pageant, California’s official State Outdoor Play. The play is one of the longest-running outdoor plays in the United States, having been performed annually since 1923.
Hemet was originally home to the Cahuilla people. Their descendants are part of the Soboba Band of Luiseño Indians.
Hemet was founded even before Riverside County was created. It was located in San Diego County—the county lines moved, not the city—and was originally called South San Jacinto.
The 10 largest employers (2024) in Hemet are:
- Hemet Unified School District—3,393 employees
- Physicians for Healthy Hospitals—1,077 employees
- County of Riverside—708 employees
- Walmart Supercenter—400 employees
- Stater Bros—344 employees
- City of Hemet—339 employees
- Forest River, Inc.—251 employees
- Tim Moran Ford, Toyota, Hyundai & Inland Chevrolet—236 employees
- Village Healthcare Retirement—215 employees
- Home Depot—195 employees
William Franklin Whittier, the co-founder of the Hemet Land Company and Lake Hemet Water Company, had no historical or familial connection to the city of Whittier, California. The city of Whittier was named after John Greenleaf Whittier, a famous Quaker poet and abolitionist.
When the Lake Hemet Dam was completed in 1895, it was the largest solid masonry dam in the world, standing 122.5 feet tall. It held this record until the Roosevelt Dam was built in Arizona in 1911.
Diamond Valley Lake, located on the southern edge of Hemet, is one of the largest man-made reservoirs in Southern California. Started in 1995 and completed in 2000, it was a massive $1.9 billion project designed to provide an emergency water supply for the region. It is 4.5 miles (7.2 km) long, 2 miles (3 km) wide, has a surface area of 4,500 acres (1,800 ha), and is 260 feet (79 m) deep.
The Southern California Fair started in Hemet in 1936. At the time, it was called the Hemet Utility Turkey Show and was established to promote the local turkey ranching industry. After World War II, in 1946, the event was renamed the Farmers Fair of Riverside County and broadened its focus beyond turkeys. In 1987, the fair moved to its current, larger location at the Lake Perris Fairgrounds, at which point the name was changed to its current name.
In 1962, Hemet became a pioneer in housing trends. Sierra Dawn Estates was the first mobile home subdivision in the United States where residents actually owned the land beneath their mobile homes rather than just renting a space.