Riverside is a city in and the county seat of Riverside County, California, United States. It is named for its location beside the Santa Ana River in Southern California. It is the most populous city in the Inland Empire and Riverside County, 12th-most populous city in California, and 62nd-most populous city in the U.S. with a population of 314,998 at the 2020 census. The Riverside–San Bernardino metropolitan area at 4.74 million residents is the 12th-largest metropolitan area in the nation. Riverside is about 50 miles (80 km) east of downtown Los Angeles and is also part of the Greater Los Angeles area.