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 2026.
$204,306 median income · $3,227,202 median home price
Located in
Los Angeles County, California
Manhattan Beach is always mentioned as one of the best suburbs in the Los Angeles area. We’ll tell you the good about “Awesome Manhattan Beach.”
Everyone here is rich; families average $204,306 a year, which is the 4th highest in the Los Angeles region. And only 3.8% are out of work. Homes average more than $3,227,202 each.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$166,442 median income · $2,245,351 median home price
Located in
Los Angeles County, California
Hermosa Beach is the second best ‘burb we looked at near Los Angeles for 2026.
It ranks 10th for incomes in the area and only 2.0% of residents lack insurance, good for 7th best.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$242,014 median income · $2,763,820 median home price
Located in
Los Angeles County, California
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.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$250,001 median income · $5,059,063 median home price
Hidden Hills ranks as the 4th best suburb of Los Angeles for 2026.
You won’t find many better places to raise your kids in the region than in Hidden Hills and the schools are some of the best around.
$179,623 median income · $1,824,948 median home price
Located in
Los Angeles County, California
Coming in as the fifth best is Rancho Palos Verdes.
Rancho Palos Verdes gets kudos for having the 9th most expensive homes in the Los Angeles area, where houses sell for an average of $1,824,948. However, the cost of living here is among the highest in the area.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$150,245 median income · $1,500,192 median home price
Located in
Los Angeles County, California
Redondo Beach 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 5.5%.
According to online reports, Redondo Beach is quickly becoming one of the more affluent suburbs in the Los Angeles area, meaning you need to get in soon.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$127,175 median income · $1,692,678 median home price
Located in
Los Angeles County, California
The 7th best suburb on our list goes to South Pasadena.
South Pasadena 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 15.8 miles to downtown, which is a good thing.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$143,547 median income · $1,437,492 median home price
Located in
Los Angeles County, California
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 3.3% of people lack insurance, good for 15th in the area.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$117,989 median income · $1,203,550 median home price
Located in
Orange County, California
Is ‘Everything Better In La Palma?’
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 Los Angeles suburbs are
Saturday Night Science
Methodology: How we determined the best suburbs around Los Angeles for 2026
Figuring out the best suburbs around Los Angeles 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 Los Angeles.
Additionally, we limited the analysis to places that have over 2,000 people. This left us with a grand total of 78 suburbs to evaluate around Los Angeles.
We ranked each place with scores from 1 to 78 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 Los Angeles.” We’re lookin’ at you, Manhattan Beach.
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 Los Angeles suburbs. Skip to the end to see the list of all the suburbs ranked from best to worst.
The full plate
Table: Best Los Angeles Suburbs
Click any column to sort. Search by city name.
| Rank | City | Suburb Score | Population | Median Income | Median Home Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Manhattan Beach | 8.50 | 34,210 | $204,306 | $3,227,202 |
| 2 | Hermosa Beach | 11.64 | 19,063 | $166,442 | $2,245,351 |
| 3 | Palos Verdes Estates | 13.64 | 12,925 | $242,014 | $2,763,820 |
| 4 | Hidden Hills | 17.07 | 2,150 | $250,001 | $5,059,063 |
| 5 | Rancho Palos Verdes | 17.57 | 40,864 | $179,623 | $1,824,948 |
| 6 | Redondo Beach | 17.71 | 69,291 | $150,245 | $1,500,192 |
| 7 | South Pasadena | 17.71 | 26,068 | $127,175 | $1,692,678 |
| 8 | Sierra Madre | 18.00 | 10,940 | $143,547 | $1,437,492 |
| 9 | La Palma | 19.14 | 15,272 | $117,989 | $1,203,550 |
| 10 | San Marino | 19.29 | 12,216 | $214,167 | $2,837,216 |
| 11 | Agoura Hills | 20.79 | 19,721 | $171,302 | $1,259,726 |
| 12 | El Segundo | 22.07 | 16,769 | $150,737 | $1,759,408 |
| 13 | Rolling Hills Estates | 23.36 | 8,131 | $191,895 | $1,901,413 |
| 14 | La Habra Heights | 23.50 | 5,478 | $179,583 | $1,399,870 |
| 15 | Cerritos | 23.64 | 47,867 | $135,439 | $1,094,901 |
| 16 | La Mirada | 27.43 | 47,180 | $109,288 | $887,479 |
| 17 | Cypress | 27.50 | 49,498 | $130,215 | $1,085,691 |
| 18 | Santa Monica | 27.86 | 91,169 | $114,885 | $1,703,948 |
| 19 | Lakewood | 28.14 | 79,850 | $119,177 | $882,502 |
| 20 | Torrance | 28.29 | 142,130 | $116,217 | $1,124,932 |
| 21 | Arcadia | 28.29 | 55,170 | $113,516 | $1,414,451 |
| 22 | Malibu | 28.79 | 10,421 | $194,421 | $3,142,247 |
| 23 | Beverly Hills | 30.07 | 31,624 | $132,977 | $3,662,756 |
| 24 | Calabasas | 30.36 | 22,669 | $165,288 | $1,722,904 |
| 25 | Simi Valley | 31.00 | 125,634 | $122,081 | $844,909 |
| 26 | Thousand Oaks | 31.57 | 125,205 | $135,603 | $1,049,634 |
| 27 | Seal Beach | 31.64 | 24,722 | $85,964 | $848,899 |
| 28 | West Hollywood | 33.50 | 34,884 | $96,995 | $1,019,551 |
| 29 | Santa Clarita | 34.00 | 230,221 | $123,062 | $802,016 |
| 30 | Alhambra | 35.00 | 81,022 | $88,024 | $937,892 |
| 31 | Buena Park | 35.14 | 82,871 | $110,550 | $940,507 |
| 32 | Lomita | 36.36 | 20,225 | $93,810 | $921,951 |
| 33 | San Gabriel | 36.64 | 38,392 | $90,488 | $1,121,301 |
| 34 | Signal Hill | 36.64 | 11,468 | $113,298 | $708,079 |
| 35 | Monrovia | 36.86 | 37,571 | $96,021 | $992,558 |
| 36 | Pasadena | 38.14 | 136,969 | $105,192 | $1,209,228 |
| 37 | Whittier | 38.93 | 86,165 | $97,201 | $821,843 |
| 38 | Duarte | 39.14 | 22,184 | $105,483 | $801,444 |
| 39 | Downey | 39.71 | 110,939 | $90,699 | $888,710 |
| 40 | Fullerton | 41.07 | 140,968 | $104,286 | $1,050,945 |
| 41 | La Habra | 41.21 | 61,970 | $100,106 | $911,595 |
| 42 | West Covina | 41.86 | 107,037 | $101,065 | $852,373 |
| 43 | Los Alamitos | 42.07 | 11,794 | $97,155 | $1,583,957 |
| 44 | Monterey Park | 42.29 | 59,132 | $81,855 | $934,098 |
| 45 | Norwalk | 42.43 | 99,789 | $100,085 | $763,283 |
| 46 | Glendale | 43.86 | 190,748 | $88,393 | $1,201,880 |
| 47 | Temple | 44.50 | 5,901 | $91,180 | $284,500 |
| 48 | Carson | 45.00 | 92,871 | $108,703 | $799,422 |
| 49 | Pico Rivera | 45.29 | 60,272 | $88,201 | $753,243 |
| 50 | Artesia | 45.36 | 15,889 | $101,004 | $878,198 |
| 51 | Gardena | 46.29 | 59,422 | $84,803 | $792,922 |
| 52 | Westlake | 47.14 | 4,743 | $68,381 | $174,865 |
| 53 | Santa Fe Springs | 47.86 | 18,871 | $88,238 | $783,370 |
| 54 | Long Beach | 48.57 | 455,548 | $87,430 | $857,861 |
| 55 | Rosemead | 48.57 | 50,013 | $73,566 | $913,339 |
| 56 | Bellflower | 50.29 | 76,819 | $78,722 | $801,999 |
| 57 | La Puente | 50.29 | 37,142 | $86,602 | $723,135 |
| 58 | San Fernando | 50.57 | 23,632 | $83,024 | $753,549 |
| 59 | Stanton | 51.71 | 39,402 | $84,707 | $793,738 |
| 60 | Hawthorne | 51.79 | 85,191 | $75,848 | $883,585 |
| 61 | Hawaiian Gardens | 52.00 | 13,691 | $76,341 | $647,289 |
| 62 | Baldwin Park | 53.00 | 70,138 | $80,663 | $722,511 |
| 63 | Lawndale | 53.14 | 30,781 | $85,441 | $777,393 |
| 64 | Montebello | 53.29 | 61,045 | $79,971 | $827,435 |
| 65 | Azusa | 53.50 | 49,031 | $90,721 | $715,154 |
| 66 | Paramount | 54.71 | 52,050 | $75,250 | $648,287 |
| 67 | Inglewood | 55.86 | 104,569 | $72,750 | $763,568 |
| 68 | El Monte | 56.86 | 106,109 | $68,030 | $765,444 |
| 69 | Commerce | 56.86 | 11,993 | $77,064 | $696,480 |
| 70 | South Gate | 57.00 | 91,483 | $74,571 | $700,783 |
| 71 | Bell Gardens | 59.43 | 38,229 | $62,298 | $690,424 |
| 72 | Bell | 61.43 | 32,476 | $61,020 | $688,070 |
| 73 | Lynwood | 61.86 | 64,578 | $74,844 | $688,936 |
| 74 | Compton | 62.29 | 92,698 | $78,465 | $637,961 |
| 75 | Maywood | 63.43 | 24,317 | $60,943 | $652,495 |
| 76 | Huntington Park | 64.43 | 53,108 | $59,996 | $675,536 |
| 77 | South El Monte | 64.57 | 19,287 | $72,990 | $762,159 |
| 78 | Cudahy | 64.71 | 22,087 | $56,615 | $680,366 |
Source: U.S. Census ACS 2020-2024. 78 suburbs within 30 miles of Los Angeles.
Summary
Summary: Welcome to the Best Los Angeles ‘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 Los Angeles are Manhattan Beach, Hermosa Beach, Palos Verdes Estates, Hidden Hills, Rancho Palos Verdes, Redondo Beach, South Pasadena, Sierra Madre, La Palma, and San Marino.
So if you’re craving the amenities of a larger city like Los Angeles 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 Los Angeles FAQs
What is the best suburb of Los Angeles?
Manhattan Beach is the best suburb of Los Angeles for 2026, according to Saturday Night Science. Hermosa Beach and Palos Verdes Estates are next.
What are the best suburbs of Los Angeles?
The best suburbs of Los Angeles are Manhattan Beach, Hermosa Beach, Palos Verdes Estates, Hidden Hills, Rancho Palos Verdes, Redondo Beach, South Pasadena, Sierra Madre, La Palma, and San Marino. We ranked all 78 places within commuting range.
How expensive is Manhattan Beach?
The median household income in Manhattan Beach is $204,306 and the median home costs $3,227,202. Top suburbs rarely come cheap; that is part of how they got there.
What counts as a suburb of Los Angeles?
Any place within 30 miles of Los Angeles qualifies. 78 towns fit that circle, and every one of them got scored.
How do you rank Los Angeles 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, Manhattan Beach, takes the crown.
