Ontario, California: the eighth-ranked cargo airport, 526 county warehouses and a shipping plan

Ontario, California, is in San Bernardino County, 187,013 residents by the Census Bureau's 2025 estimate, and its name is easy to mistake for the Canadian province, so the facts here are all about the California city. Two federal data sets say what it is for a seller. The Federal Aviation Administration's 2025 list of all-cargo airports by landed weight puts Ontario International eighth on that list at 4,897,871,391 pounds, between Los Angeles International and John F. Kennedy International. And the Census Bureau's County Business Patterns counts 526 warehousing and storage establishments in San Bernardino County for 2023, 14 of them with 1,000 or more employees, in a county with about one seventh of Los Angeles County's total establishments. For an online store the practical meaning is where a parcel starts: many fulfillment operations sit here, and a free shipping threshold should be set from the rate of the place the parcel leaves from, not from the place the founder lives. This page gives the cargo figures, the county counts, the tax rows that apply to an Ontario delivery and a shipping-threshold plan for a store that fulfils from the Inland Empire. This is not tax advice.

Outline map of California with markers for OntarioOntario
The Ontario International Airport terminal seen from the airfield, an airliner at a gate and the San Gabriel Mountains behind it under a wide blue sky
Photo: TSchuckert, CC BY-SA via Wikimedia Commons

Where Ontario sits

Ontario International ranks eighth by landed weight on the FAA's 2025 all-cargo list, and San Bernardino County, which holds the city, counts 526 warehousing and storage establishments, so for a store that fulfils from the Inland Empire it is where parcels start their trip.

A shipping-threshold plan for a store that fulfils from the Inland Empire

  1. First, with your fulfillment partner

    Get the origin ZIP and the carrier rate sheet that applies to it. San Bernardino County counts 526 warehousing establishments, 14 of them with 1,000 or more employees, so partners differ widely in size and service, and the rate sheet is what your threshold must beat.

    Source: U.S. Census Bureau: County Business Patterns 2023, county file, NAICS 493 (warehousing and storage)

  2. When you set the threshold

    Pick a free shipping line from your average order value and the carrier cost out of that origin, then test it against your margin. Use the discounted shipping tiers template to set the line, and keep the progress bar on the same subtotal the rule uses.

  3. Before you publish a delivery date

    Take the date from your carrier's service table for the shopper's ZIP, not from airport statistics. The FAA's list measures landed aircraft weight, and Ontario's eighth place in 2025 says nothing about how long a parcel takes.

    Source: Federal Aviation Administration: CY 2025 All-Cargo Airports by Landed Weight (ARP-CY2025-all-cargo-airports.xlsx, added 9/22/2026)

  4. Before launch

    Place two test orders to Inland Empire addresses, one in Ontario at 8.75 percent and one in Montclair at 9.00 percent in the CDTFA table, and check the tax on each total. Quote the threshold before tax.

    Source: California Department of Tax and Fee Administration: Sales and Use Tax Rates by County and City (CDTFA-95, operative October 1, 2026)

  5. After the first month

    Compare shipping cost per order with the plan and move the threshold only by a small step. A line that is too low gives freight away and one that is too high leaves the offer unseen.

Build it with the Shipping discount tiers template.

Requires: Growth plan or higher.

Questions merchants ask

Is this the Ontario in Canada?
No. This page is about Ontario in San Bernardino County, California. The FAA's list names it Ontario International, in Ontario, California, and the Census Bureau's file lists it as Ontario city, California.
How big is Ontario International for cargo?
The FAA's calendar year 2025 list of all-cargo airports by landed weight ranks it 8th at 4,897,871,391 pounds, up 1.5 percent from 2024, between Los Angeles International in 7th and John F. Kennedy International in 9th.
How many warehouses are in the county?
County Business Patterns 2023 lists 526 establishments in warehousing and storage in San Bernardino County, 14 with 1,000 or more employees. It counts establishments, not square feet, so it says how many sites there are, not how large the space is.
What sales tax rate applies to an Ontario delivery?
The CDTFA table operative October 1, 2026 lists the City of Ontario at 8.75 percent. The rate depends on the delivery address, so use your checkout's calculation. This is not tax advice; confirm with the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration.

Offer ideas for Ontario

Facts and sources

Not tax advice. Confirm current rules with the state revenue department before you rely on a date or an exemption.

Run the Ontario plan in Freebies Engine by Log Studio Lab.

Requires: Growth plan or higher.