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Los Angeles is a vibrant city with something for everyone. But for people who don't like the hustle and bustle of big-city living, life in California's largest city can be a bit overwhelming. Want the best parts of living in Los Angeles without the added expenses, the traffic, and the crime? Then you're probably in search of Los Angeles's best suburbs.
Los Angeles is famous for producing the world's best movies in Hollywood, having some of the best beaches on the West Coast, and enjoying, statistically, some of the the most pleasant weather in America. It's also where you'll find the highest concentration of celebrities nationwide, and you're quite likely to spot on in the flesh if you spend enough time shopping at The Grove or attending events at the Staples Center. And as far as food goes, Los Angeles's diversity has ensured that the city has the best cuisine in every category, from Thai food to taco trucks.
Where can you find the nicest suburbs that Los Angeles has to offer? We're talking about the suburbs where unemployment, poverty, and crime are low, incomes and home prices are high, and there's plenty to keep you entertained without necessitating a trip to the big city. Well, 60% of this list's members are situated in the coastal South Bay region to the southwest of Los Angeles. Places like Palos Verdes Estates, where crime and unemployment are super low, are emblematic of the best of this area. But there's still great suburbs elsewhere, like the surfer's paradise of Malibu, west of L.A. That's if you've got around two million bucks to drop on a home and are okay with a cost of living that outstrips the national average by 300%. And that's not to single out Malibu as the only pricey spot on this list; in fact, the only suburb featured here with a median income under six figures is South Pasadena.
So get ready to don your Dodgers cap, order up a food truck taco, and send your headshots to every agent in the business, because we're taking a closer look at the best Los Angeles suburbs to live in for 2023.
Here are the 10 best suburbs to live around Los Angeles for 2023:
That wraps up our tour of the best Los Angeles suburbs to live in. These are the places where crime is low, the economy works for everyone, and you can find plenty to do without submitting yourself to the hellish Los Angeles traffic. If you're on the fence about whether to move to L.A. or just one of its satellite cities, be sure to check out the best neighborhoods in Los Angeles so that you can weigh your options.
You're bound to have a good experience if you end up in any of the suburbs listed above, but only one spot can take the gold medal. So what is the best Los Angeles suburb to call home? According to the data, Hermosa Beach is the best Los Angeles suburb for 2023.
Shocked to find that your favorite Los Angeles suburb didn't feature on our list? Take a look at the comprehensive list of Los Angeles suburbs below to see how your town or city fared.
Note: 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 larger selection of suburbs.
Feel free to check out some more reading about California:
The 10 Best Los Angeles Suburbs To Live For 2023
Hermosa Beach is always mentioned as one of the best suburbs in the Los Angeles area. We'll tell you the good about "Awesome Hermosa Beach."
Everyone here is rich; families average $144,388 a year, which is the 9th highest in the Los Angeles region. And only 4.24% are out of work. Homes average more than $1,674,500 each.
/10
Population: 19,787
Rank Last Year: 1 (No Change)
Median Income: $144,388
Unemployment Rate: 4.2%
Poverty Rate: 4.5%
More on Hermosa Beach: Real Estate | Data | Photos
Manhattan Beach is the second best 'burb we looked at near Los Angeles for 2023.
It ranks 6th for incomes in the area and only 1.81% of residents lack insurance, good for 3rd best.
/10
Population: 35,585
Rank Last Year: 2 (No Change)
Median Income: $169,586
Unemployment Rate: 4.4%
Poverty Rate: 3.1%
More on Manhattan Beach: Real Estate | Data | Photos
Here in Palos Verdes Estates, it's really safe, and residents are just about as rich as you'll see in the Los Angeles 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 Palos Verdes Estates.
/10
Population: 13,403
Rank Last Year: 4 (Up 1)
Median Income: $202,569
Unemployment Rate: 3.3%
Poverty Rate: 4.3%
More on Palos Verdes Estates: Real Estate | Data | Photos
San Marino ranks as the 4th best suburb of Los Angeles for 2023.
You won't find many better places to raise your kids in the region than in San Marino and the schools are some of the best around.
/10
Population: 12,620
Rank Last Year: 6 (Up 2)
Median Income: $174,722
Unemployment Rate: 3.5%
Poverty Rate: 6.1%
More on San Marino: Real Estate | Data | Photos
Coming in as the fifth best is Redondo Beach.
Redondo Beach gets kudos for having the 16th most expensive homes in the Los Angeles area, where houses sell for an average of $1,026,500. However, the cost of living here is among the highest in the area.
/10
Population: 70,998
Rank Last Year: 3 (Down 2)
Median Income: $123,874
Unemployment Rate: 4.9%
Poverty Rate: 5.1%
More on Redondo Beach: Real Estate | Data | Photos
Rancho Palos Verdes 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 5.11% which is 25th best in the area.
According to online reports, Rancho Palos Verdes is quickly becoming one of the more affluent suburbs in the Los Angeles area, meaning you need to get in soon.
/10
Population: 42,316
Rank Last Year: 5 (Down 1)
Median Income: $158,996
Unemployment Rate: 5.1%
Poverty Rate: 3.9%
More on Rancho Palos Verdes: Real Estate | Data | Photos
The 7th best suburb on our list goes to Hidden Hills.
Hidden Hills 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 17.4 miles to downtown, which is a good thing.
/10
Population: 2,182
Rank Last Year: 12 (Up 5)
Median Income: $250,001
Unemployment Rate: 4.5%
Poverty Rate: 8.5%
More on Hidden Hills: Real Estate | Data
Sierra Madre 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 3.7% of people lack insurance, good for 13th in the area.
/10
Population: 11,253
Rank Last Year: 11 (Up 3)
Median Income: $116,884
Unemployment Rate: 4.7%
Poverty Rate: 5.7%
More on Sierra Madre: Real Estate | Data | Photos
Is 'Everything Better In South Pasadena?'
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.
/10
Population: 26,837
Rank Last Year: 7 (Down 2)
Median Income: $115,088
Unemployment Rate: 5.0%
Poverty Rate: 6.1%
More on South Pasadena: Real Estate | Data | Photos
And rounding out the top ten for 2023 is Malibu.
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.
/10
Population: 10,915
Rank Last Year: 13 (Up 3)
Median Income: $178,594
Unemployment Rate: 4.8%
Poverty Rate: 8.6%
More on Malibu: Real Estate | Data | Photos
Methodology: How We Determined The Best Suburbs Around Los Angeles for 2023
Figuring out the best suburbs around Los Angeles was pretty simple; we just needed to list several things that people like, and then find out which cities have the most of those things.
We threw a lot of criteria at this one in order to get the best, most complete results possible:
- 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
Then we used the newest American Community Survey data for 2017-2021 to research each suburb.
FYI: We defined a suburb as being within 30 miles of Los Angeles.
Additionally, we limited the analysis to places that have over 2,000 people. This left us with a grand total of 79 suburbs to evaluate around Los Angeles.
We ranked each place with scores from 1 to 79 in each category, where 1 was the "best.
Next, we averaged the rankings for each place to create a quality of life index.
And finally, we crowned the city with the best quality of life index the "Best Suburb near Los Angeles." We're lookin' at you, Hermosa Beach. You can download the data here.
Read on below to learn more about what it's like to live in the best of the best. Or skip to the end to see the list of all the suburbs ranked from best to worst.
Summary: Welcome to the Best Los Angeles 'Burbs of 2023
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.
So if you're hankering for some of the amenities of a larger city like Los Angeles, but don't want to deal with the drawbacks, one of these suburbs might just be for you.
For more California reading, check out:
