Anaheim has plenty to offer, but the price of admission usually comes with traffic, sky-high rent, and a calendar that fills itself.
If you want the upside of Anaheim without the daily grind, the answer is almost always a good suburb. The catch: not every suburb is worth the move.
So we ranked them. Using Saturday Night Science, we pulled the numbers on every place within commuting distance of Anaheim: incomes, home prices, unemployment, schools, the works. The result is a no-nonsense ranking of where you actually want to live.
$143,547 median income · $1,437,492 median home price
Located in
Los Angeles County, California
Sierra Madre is always mentioned as one of the best suburbs in the Anaheim area. We’ll tell you the good about “Awesome Sierra Madre.”
Everyone here is rich; families average $143,547 a year, which is the 9th highest in the Anaheim region. And only 2.6% are out of work. Homes average more than $1,437,492 each.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$156,867 median income · $3,625,146 median home price
Located in
Orange County, California
Newport Beach is the second best ‘burb we looked at near Anaheim for 2026.
It ranks 6th for incomes in the area and only 1.9% of residents lack insurance, good for 4th best.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$127,175 median income · $1,692,678 median home price
Located in
Los Angeles County, California
Here in South Pasadena, it’s really safe, and residents are just about as rich as you’ll see in the Anaheim metro area.
The bad side? Schools are more crowded, and the cost of living puts a large part of the city out of reach for most families.
But price is based on demand and a lot of people want to live in South Pasadena.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$141,520 median income · $1,736,393 median home price
Located in
Orange County, California
Dana Point ranks as the 4th best suburb of Anaheim for 2026.
You won’t find many better places to raise your kids in the region than in Dana Point and the schools are some of the best around.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$202,245 median income · $2,343,977 median home price
Located in
Orange County, California
Coming in as the fifth best is Villa Park.
Villa Park gets kudos for having the 4th most expensive homes in the Anaheim area, where houses sell for an average of $2,343,977. However, the cost of living here is among the highest in the area.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$117,989 median income · $1,203,550 median home price
Located in
Orange County, California
La Palma is proud of its 6th place finish on this list. And here’s why.
Most residents have great jobs and the unemployment rate sits at 3.9%.
According to online reports, La Palma is quickly becoming one of the more affluent suburbs in the Anaheim area, meaning you need to get in soon.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$142,439 median income · $1,012,225 median home price
Located in
Orange County, California
The 7th best suburb on our list goes to Aliso Viejo.
Aliso Viejo schools are some of the best in the region, and crime is really low. The cost of living makes it a lot more desirable for many families, especially first-time home buyers.
And, it’s only 19.2 miles to downtown, which is a good thing.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$157,582 median income · $1,419,513 median home price
Located in
Orange County, California
Yorba Linda is growing quickly, and for a good reason. Crime is far below average, and most residents are gainfully employed. Even the cost of living is reasonable.
A solid 2.5% of people lack insurance, good for 7th in the area.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$143,843 median income · $2,949,835 median home price
Located in
Orange County, California
Is ‘Everything Better In Laguna Beach?’
Almost.
It placed 9th on our list thanks to the fact that it’s really expensive to live here, but the schools are great, so you get what you pay for in that regard.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$214,167 median income · $2,837,216 median home price
Located in
Los Angeles County, California
And rounding out the top ten for 2026 is San Marino.
This city is far above average in every category, and the best part? It’s far more affordable than the other cities listed above. So, you get a big bang for your buck here.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
The receipts
Compare the top ten
Pick a metric. The bars rescale. The red line is California’s statewide median.
California statewide median: $99,122
California statewide median: $774,582
California statewide median: 6.6%
California statewide median: 12.0%
On the map
Where the best Anaheim suburbs are
Saturday Night Science
Methodology: How we determined the best suburbs around Anaheim for 2026
Figuring out the best suburbs around Anaheim was simple. We used Saturday Night Science to find things people like about living in the suburbs and then locate the suburbs with those things.
We analyzed the newest American Community Survey data for 2020-2024 to research each suburb. We decided upon the following criteria:
- Low unemployment rate
- High median household incomes
- Population density (lots of things to do)
- High home values
- A lot of college-educated people
- Low poverty
- High rate of insured families
We defined a suburb as being within 30 miles of Anaheim.
Additionally, we limited the analysis to places that have over 3,000 people. This left us with a grand total of 103 suburbs to evaluate around Anaheim.
We ranked each place with scores from 1 to 103 in each category, where 1 was the best.
Next, we averaged the rankings for each place to create a quality-of-life index.
Finally, we crowned the city with the best quality of life index, the “Best Suburb near Anaheim.” We’re lookin’ at you, Sierra Madre.
This result may differ from our state-wide data as we did not include commute times and crime for this analysis to allow for a more extensive selection of suburbs.
We updated the data for 2026. This report is our eleventh time ranking the best Anaheim suburbs. Skip to the end to see the list of all the suburbs ranked from best to worst.
The full plate
Table: Best Anaheim Suburbs
Click any column to sort. Search by city name.
| Rank | City | Suburb Score | Population | Median Income | Median Home Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sierra Madre | 16.29 | 10,940 | $143,547 | $1,437,492 |
| 2 | Newport Beach | 16.86 | 83,845 | $156,867 | $3,625,146 |
| 3 | South Pasadena | 16.93 | 26,068 | $127,175 | $1,692,678 |
| 4 | Dana Point | 18.29 | 32,790 | $141,520 | $1,736,393 |
| 5 | Villa Park | 18.29 | 5,748 | $202,245 | $2,343,977 |
| 6 | La Palma | 19.36 | 15,272 | $117,989 | $1,203,550 |
| 7 | Aliso Viejo | 21.50 | 51,113 | $142,439 | $1,012,225 |
| 8 | Yorba Linda | 21.71 | 67,170 | $157,582 | $1,419,513 |
| 9 | Laguna Beach | 21.71 | 22,710 | $143,843 | $2,949,835 |
| 10 | San Marino | 22.00 | 12,216 | $214,167 | $2,837,216 |
| 11 | Eastvale | 22.17 | 70,633 | $160,069 | $949,255 |
| 12 | Mission Viejo | 23.50 | 92,151 | $136,123 | $1,229,743 |
| 13 | San Clemente | 24.86 | 63,273 | $140,062 | $1,721,005 |
| 14 | La Habra Heights | 25.36 | 5,478 | $179,583 | $1,399,870 |
| 15 | Cerritos | 27.00 | 47,867 | $135,439 | $1,094,901 |
| 16 | Rancho Santa Margarita | 28.00 | 46,990 | $152,560 | $1,029,346 |
| 17 | El Cerrito | 29.00 | 25,994 | $127,876 | $1,142,479 |
| 18 | Lake Forest | 31.43 | 86,281 | $135,175 | $1,208,686 |
| 19 | Laguna Niguel | 31.43 | 64,139 | $140,452 | $1,499,546 |
| 20 | Cypress | 31.43 | 49,498 | $130,215 | $1,085,691 |
| 21 | La Mirada | 31.79 | 47,180 | $109,288 | $887,479 |
| 22 | Huntington Beach | 31.86 | 195,240 | $120,919 | $1,366,658 |
| 23 | Brea | 32.00 | 47,469 | $131,129 | $1,140,406 |
| 24 | Claremont | 32.64 | 36,595 | $125,647 | $1,039,337 |
| 25 | Fountain Valley | 33.43 | 56,258 | $115,237 | $1,394,237 |
| 26 | Laguna Hills | 33.57 | 30,740 | $128,851 | $1,243,180 |
| 27 | Lakewood | 34.00 | 79,850 | $119,177 | $882,502 |
| 28 | Arcadia | 34.00 | 55,170 | $113,516 | $1,414,451 |
| 29 | Walnut | 34.50 | 27,611 | $129,449 | $1,197,951 |
| 30 | San Juan Capistrano | 36.93 | 35,095 | $129,457 | $1,342,011 |
| 31 | Irvine | 37.07 | 311,690 | $136,719 | $1,557,982 |
| 32 | Placentia | 38.29 | 52,826 | $115,929 | $1,117,228 |
| 33 | Diamond Bar | 40.50 | 53,355 | $108,281 | $1,028,880 |
| 34 | Orange | 40.64 | 138,266 | $117,113 | $1,143,788 |
| 35 | Costa Mesa | 41.21 | 110,330 | $111,505 | $1,413,322 |
| 36 | Seal Beach | 41.21 | 24,722 | $85,964 | $848,899 |
| 37 | Tustin | 43.93 | 78,981 | $112,503 | $1,189,731 |
| 38 | Norco | 44.21 | 25,054 | $127,566 | $918,950 |
| 39 | Glendora | 44.71 | 50,926 | $113,569 | $893,350 |
| 40 | Signal Hill | 45.79 | 11,468 | $113,298 | $708,079 |
| 41 | La Verne | 46.14 | 30,600 | $103,761 | $951,548 |
| 42 | San Dimas | 46.86 | 33,789 | $105,321 | $927,055 |
| 43 | Buena Park | 46.93 | 82,871 | $110,550 | $940,507 |
| 44 | Rancho Cucamonga | 48.07 | 175,411 | $111,895 | $792,765 |
| 45 | Chino Hills | 48.71 | 77,927 | $126,334 | $996,262 |
| 46 | Alhambra | 48.86 | 81,022 | $88,024 | $937,892 |
| 47 | San Gabriel | 49.00 | 38,392 | $90,488 | $1,121,301 |
| 48 | Upland | 49.50 | 79,257 | $105,830 | $825,789 |
| 49 | Monrovia | 51.21 | 37,571 | $96,021 | $992,558 |
| 50 | Whittier | 51.36 | 86,165 | $97,201 | $821,843 |
| 51 | Downey | 53.29 | 110,939 | $90,699 | $888,710 |
| 52 | Duarte | 54.07 | 22,184 | $105,483 | $801,444 |
| 53 | Fullerton | 54.50 | 140,968 | $104,286 | $1,050,945 |
| 54 | West Covina | 55.50 | 107,037 | $101,065 | $852,373 |
| 55 | La Habra | 55.57 | 61,970 | $100,106 | $911,595 |
| 56 | Corona | 55.64 | 159,670 | $109,242 | $764,386 |
| 57 | Covina | 56.00 | 49,888 | $98,671 | $804,341 |
| 58 | Monterey Park | 56.21 | 59,132 | $81,855 | $934,098 |
| 59 | Los Alamitos | 56.21 | 11,794 | $97,155 | $1,583,957 |
| 60 | Santa Ana | 56.57 | 312,534 | $93,999 | $866,066 |
| 61 | Norwalk | 56.71 | 99,789 | $100,085 | $763,283 |
| 62 | Garden Grove | 57.07 | 170,964 | $92,174 | $1,013,183 |
| 63 | Temple | 59.64 | 5,901 | $91,180 | $284,500 |
| 64 | Pico Rivera | 60.29 | 60,272 | $88,201 | $753,243 |
| 65 | Artesia | 60.43 | 15,889 | $101,004 | $878,198 |
| 66 | Carson | 60.50 | 92,871 | $108,703 | $799,422 |
| 67 | Chino | 62.64 | 92,652 | $104,682 | $761,426 |
| 68 | Westminster | 62.64 | 89,860 | $85,541 | $1,097,353 |
| 69 | Laguna Woods | 63.64 | 17,289 | $59,269 | $471,410 |
| 70 | Rosemead | 63.86 | 50,013 | $73,566 | $913,339 |
| 71 | Santa Fe Springs | 64.07 | 18,871 | $88,238 | $783,370 |
| 72 | Long Beach | 65.00 | 455,548 | $87,430 | $857,861 |
| 73 | Grand Terrace | 65.29 | 13,078 | $83,628 | $587,468 |
| 74 | Bellflower | 67.86 | 76,819 | $78,722 | $801,999 |
| 75 | La Puente | 68.14 | 37,142 | $86,602 | $723,135 |
| 76 | Fontana | 69.07 | 214,169 | $102,821 | $639,032 |
| 77 | Hawaiian Gardens | 69.57 | 13,691 | $76,341 | $647,289 |
| 78 | Azusa | 69.86 | 49,031 | $90,721 | $715,154 |
| 79 | Lake Elsinore | 70.00 | 72,461 | $101,888 | $586,598 |
| 80 | Baldwin Park | 70.00 | 70,138 | $80,663 | $722,511 |
| 81 | Stanton | 70.14 | 39,402 | $84,707 | $793,738 |
| 82 | Montebello | 71.36 | 61,045 | $79,971 | $827,435 |
| 83 | Riverside | 72.14 | 319,069 | $91,045 | $646,784 |
| 84 | Jurupa Valley | 72.58 | 107,011 | $97,550 | $672,514 |
| 85 | Paramount | 72.86 | 52,050 | $75,250 | $648,287 |
| 86 | Lakeland | 74.00 | 119,961 | $64,185 | $311,156 |
| 87 | El Monte | 75.00 | 106,109 | $68,030 | $765,444 |
| 88 | Midway | 75.21 | 3,511 | $63,381 | $248,338 |
| 89 | Commerce | 75.86 | 11,993 | $77,064 | $696,480 |
| 90 | Ontario | 76.14 | 180,547 | $88,941 | $672,742 |
| 91 | South Gate | 76.71 | 91,483 | $74,571 | $700,783 |
| 92 | Pomona | 77.36 | 147,943 | $79,479 | $690,986 |
| 93 | Bell Gardens | 78.29 | 38,229 | $62,298 | $690,424 |
| 94 | Montclair | 78.50 | 37,810 | $77,659 | $660,566 |
| 95 | Rialto | 79.71 | 104,143 | $88,857 | $588,566 |
| 96 | Bell | 81.00 | 32,476 | $61,020 | $688,070 |
| 97 | Lynwood | 81.29 | 64,578 | $74,844 | $688,936 |
| 98 | Compton | 82.29 | 92,698 | $78,465 | $637,961 |
| 99 | South El Monte | 83.86 | 19,287 | $72,990 | $762,159 |
| 100 | Huntington Park | 84.43 | 53,108 | $59,996 | $675,536 |
Source: U.S. Census ACS 2020-2024. 103 suburbs within 30 miles of Anaheim.
Summary
Summary: Welcome to the Best Anaheim ‘Burbs of 2026
We said it once, and we’ll say it again–life in the big city isn’t for everyone. At least not all the time.
The best suburbs of Anaheim are Sierra Madre, Newport Beach, South Pasadena, Dana Point, Villa Park, La Palma, Aliso Viejo, Yorba Linda, Laguna Beach, and San Marino.
So if you’re craving the amenities of a larger city like Anaheim but don’t want to deal with the drawbacks, one of these suburbs might be for you. Not sold on California? Take the two-minute Find Your Place quiz and see which state actually fits you.
Questions and answers
Best Suburbs Of Anaheim FAQs
What is the best suburb of Anaheim?
Sierra Madre is the best suburb of Anaheim for 2026, according to Saturday Night Science. Newport Beach and South Pasadena are next.
What are the best suburbs of Anaheim?
The best suburbs of Anaheim are Sierra Madre, Newport Beach, South Pasadena, Dana Point, Villa Park, La Palma, Aliso Viejo, Yorba Linda, Laguna Beach, and San Marino. We ranked all 103 places within commuting range.
How expensive is Sierra Madre?
The median household income in Sierra Madre is $143,547 and the median home costs $1,437,492. Top suburbs rarely come cheap; that is part of how they got there.
What counts as a suburb of Anaheim?
Any place within 30 miles of Anaheim qualifies. 103 towns fit that circle, and every one of them got scored.
How do you rank Anaheim suburbs?
Each suburb is scored on income, home values, density, unemployment, education, insurance coverage, and poverty, using Census American Community Survey data. The best combined score, Sierra Madre, takes the crown.
