Banning has a western neighbor, the city of Beaumont, which shares geographic and regional features. Beaumont has been rapidly growing in size and population since the 1980s.
City-owned Banning Municipal Airport, (FAA designator: BNG), has a 5,200-foot (1,600 m) runway. San Gorgonio Memorial Hospital is a General Acute Care Hospital in Banning with Basic Emergency Services as of 2005.
As of the census of 2000, there were 23,562 people, 8,923 households, and 6,237 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,022 people per square mile (395/km²). There were 9,761 housing units at an average density of 423/sq mi (164/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 64.19% White, 8.55% Black or African American, 2.52% Native American, 5.38% Asian, 0.13% Pacific Islander, 14.88% from other races, and 4.36% from two or more races. 30.21% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There were 8,923 households out of which 26.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.2% were married couples living together, 12.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.1% were non-families. 25.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 16.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.60 and the average family size was 3.11.
In the city the population was spread out with 26.4% under the age of 18, 7.4% from 18 to 24, 20.9% from 25 to 44, 18.4% from 45 to 64, and 26.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females there were 90.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.7 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $32,076, and the median income for a family was $38,995. Males had a median income of $31,300 versus $20,794 for females. The per capita income for the city was $16,231. About 14.8% of families and 19.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 31.8% of those under age 18 and 6.5% of those age 65 or over.