While big cities like Santa Clarita offer culture, cuisine, and charisma, they also deliver terrible traffic, towering expenses, and a taxing quality of life.
With that in mind, we wanted to uncover the best suburbs around Santa Clarita. These burbs have all of the benefits of being near Santa Clarita without actually having to be in the city.
Of course, not all suburbs of Santa Clarita are created equally, which is precisely why we set out to find the best ones. Using Saturday Night Science, we delve into the factors that matter most, from commutes and housing costs to community vibes, to help you uncover the perfect suburban spots in the Greater Santa Clarita area.
Table Of Contents: Top Ten | Methodology | Summary | Table
The 10 best suburbs to live around Santa Clarita for 2025:
What’s the best suburb of Santa Clarita? San Marino ranks as the best suburb of Santa Clarita for 2025 based on the most recent Census and FBI data. If you happen to be a resident of San Marino, you’re probably not too surprised to find it on the top our list.
We’ll tell you what makes each of these 10 Santa Clarita ‘burbs better than the rest–but first, a bit about our methodology.
Feel free to check out some more reading about California:
The 10 Best Santa Clarita Suburbs To Live For 2025
/10
Population: 12,279
Median Income: $187,633
Unemployment Rate: 4.1%
Poverty Rate: 5.8%
More on San Marino: Data
San Marino is always mentioned as one of the best suburbs in the Santa Clarita area. We’ll tell you the good about “Awesome San Marino.”
Everyone here is rich; families average $187,633 a year, which is the 3rd highest in the Santa Clarita region. And only 4.07% are out of work. Homes average more than $2,000,001 each.
/10
Population: 26,297
Median Income: $128,105
Unemployment Rate: 4.8%
Poverty Rate: 5.1%
More on South Pasadena: Data
South Pasadena is the second best ‘burb we looked at near Santa Clarita for 2025.
It ranks 8th for incomes in the area and only 3.67% of residents lack insurance, good for 5th best.
/10
Population: 2,079
Median Income: $250,001
Unemployment Rate: 4.7%
Poverty Rate: 11.4%
More on Hidden Hills: Data
Here in Hidden Hills, it’s really safe, and residents are just about as rich as you’ll see in the Santa Clarita 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 Hidden Hills.
/10
Population: 19,881
Median Income: $171,944
Unemployment Rate: 5.5%
Poverty Rate: 5.7%
More on Agoura Hills: Data
Agoura Hills ranks as the 4th best suburb of Santa Clarita for 2025.
You won’t find many better places to raise your kids in the region than in Agoura Hills and the schools are some of the best around.
/10
Population: 10,516
Median Income: $192,159
Unemployment Rate: 7.4%
Poverty Rate: 12.5%
More on Malibu: Data
Coming in as the fifth best is Malibu.
Malibu gets kudos for having the 2nd most expensive homes in the Santa Clarita area, where houses sell for an average of $2,000,001. However, the cost of living here is among the highest in the area.
/10
Population: 91,535
Median Income: $109,739
Unemployment Rate: 6.1%
Poverty Rate: 11.6%
More on Santa Monica: Data
Santa Monica 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 6.07%.
According to online reports, Santa Monica is quickly becoming one of the more affluent suburbs in the Santa Clarita area, meaning you need to get in soon.
/10
Population: 31,955
Median Income: $127,979
Unemployment Rate: 8.2%
Poverty Rate: 9.0%
More on Beverly Hills: Data
The 7th best suburb on our list goes to Beverly Hills.
Beverly 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 23.1 miles to downtown, which is a good thing.
/10
Population: 22,869
Median Income: $157,938
Unemployment Rate: 10.2%
Poverty Rate: 9.2%
More on Calabasas: Data
Calabasas 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 2.29% of people lack insurance, good for 3rd in the area.
Stuck up ppl with nothing to do. High school kids are superficial with lots of drug activity
Many ppl badmouth Calabasas
/10
Population: 35,957
Median Income: $149,403
Unemployment Rate: 5.1%
Poverty Rate: 4.5%
More on Moorpark: Data
Is ‘Everything Better In Moorpark?’
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: 125,676
Median Income: $134,367
Unemployment Rate: 4.9%
Poverty Rate: 8.0%
More on Thousand Oaks: Data
And rounding out the top ten for 2025 is Thousand Oaks.
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.
Methodology: How We Determined The Best Suburbs Around Santa Clarita for 2025
Figuring out the best suburbs around Santa Clarita 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 2019-2023 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 Santa Clarita.
Additionally, we limited the analysis to places that have over 2,000 people. This left us with a grand total of 20 suburbs to evaluate around Santa Clarita.
We ranked each place with scores from 1 to 20 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 Santa Clarita.” We’re lookin’ at you, San Marino.
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 2025. This report is our tenth time ranking the best Santa Clarita suburbs. Skip to the end to see the list of all the suburbs ranked from best to worst.
Summary: Welcome to the Best Santa Clarita ‘Burbs of 2025
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 Santa Clarita are .
So if you’re craving the amenities of a larger city like Santa Clarita but don’t want to deal with the drawbacks, one of these suburbs might be for you.
For more California reading, check out:
Table: Best Santa Clarita Suburbs
| Rank | City | Population | Median Income | Average Home Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Marino, CA | 12,279 | $187,633 | $2,000,001 |
| 2 | South Pasadena, CA | 26,297 | $128,105 | $1,545,100 |
| 3 | Hidden Hills, CA | 2,079 | $250,001 | $2,000,001 |
| 4 | Agoura Hills, CA | 19,881 | $171,944 | $1,072,200 |
| 5 | Malibu, CA | 10,516 | $192,159 | $2,000,001 |
| 6 | Santa Monica, CA | 91,535 | $109,739 | $1,810,200 |
| 7 | Beverly Hills, CA | 31,955 | $127,979 | $2,000,001 |
| 8 | Calabasas, CA | 22,869 | $157,938 | $1,453,900 |
| 9 | Moorpark, CA | 35,957 | $149,403 | $852,800 |
| 10 | Thousand Oaks, CA | 125,676 | $134,367 | $951,200 |
| 11 | Simi Valley, CA | 125,769 | $117,703 | $753,500 |
| 12 | West Hollywood, CA | 35,090 | $94,844 | $969,900 |
| 13 | Fillmore, CA | 16,665 | $90,343 | $567,500 |
| 14 | Pasadena, CA | 136,462 | $103,778 | $1,045,000 |
| 15 | Westlake, CA | 4,794 | $67,691 | $168,200 |
| 16 | San Fernando, CA | 23,716 | $79,694 | $630,700 |
| 17 | Glendale, CA | 192,270 | $84,262 | $1,043,900 |
| 18 | Los Angeles, CA | 3,857,897 | $80,366 | $879,500 |
| 19 | Lancaster, CA | 170,013 | $76,083 | $409,100 |
| 20 | Palmdale, CA | 165,487 | $81,151 | $435,300 |