Perris now incorporates Pinacate Station which is the home of the Orange Empire Railway Museum (OERM, a.k.a "the trolley museum") - the largest operating museum of its kind on the West Coast.
On March 20, 2007, Perris was featured on ABC's Nightline news show during its "Realty Check" segment. The story dealt with the rising trend of home foreclosures in Riverside County, and Perris was referred to as the "epicenter". The story then dealt primarily with the city of Perris.
The "Farmer Boys" restaurant chain was started in Perris in 1981.
Perris is also known for the Rock Castle house set on a hill above town.
As of the census of 2006, there were 46,600 people, 9,652 households, and 8,117 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,153.5 people per square mile (445.4/km²). There were 10,553 housing units at an average density of 336.4/sq mi (129.9/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 41.20% White, 15.88% African American, 1.46% Native American, 2.75% Asian, 0.33% Pacific Islander, 32.55% from other races, and 5.82% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 56.16% of the population.
There were 9,652 households out of which 56.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.2% were married couples living together, 18.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 15.9% were non-families. 12.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 4.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.73 and the average family size was 4.00.
In the city the population was spread out with 39.6% under the age of 18, 9.9% from 18 to 24, 30.8% from 25 to 44, 13.5% from 45 to 64, and 6.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 25 years. Perris' large youthful demographics is a result of families moved into the city's new housing tracts. For every 100 females there were 96.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.2 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $35,522, and the median income for a family was $36,063. Males had a median income of $31,891 versus $24,634 for females. The per capita income for the city was $11,425. About 18.1% of families and 20.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 25.3% of those under age 18 and 14.2% of those age 65 or over.