Santa Clarita 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 Santa Clarita 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 Santa Clarita: incomes, home prices, unemployment, schools, the works. The result is a no-nonsense ranking of where you actually want to live.
Table Of Contents: Top Ten | Methodology | Summary | Table
The 10 best suburbs to live around Santa Clarita for 2026:
What’s the best suburb of Santa Clarita? Hidden Hills ranks as the best suburb of Santa Clarita for 2026 based on the most recent Census and FBI data. If you happen to be a resident of Hidden Hills, 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 2026
1. Hidden Hills, CA
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Population: 2,150
Median Income: $250,001
Unemployment Rate: 2.5%
Poverty Rate: 9.5%
More on Hidden Hills: Movers
Hidden Hills is always mentioned as one of the best suburbs in the Santa Clarita area. We’ll tell you the good about “Awesome Hidden Hills.”
Everyone here is rich; families average $250,001 a year, which is the highest in the Santa Clarita region. And only 2.47% are out of work. Homes average more than $5,059,062 each.
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Population: 26,068
Median Income: $127,175
Unemployment Rate: 5.1%
Poverty Rate: 4.9%
More on South Pasadena: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers
South Pasadena is the second best ‘burb we looked at near Santa Clarita for 2026.
It ranks 9th for incomes in the area and only 2.77% of residents lack insurance, good for 5th best.
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Population: 12,216
Median Income: $214,167
Unemployment Rate: 5.3%
Poverty Rate: 6.7%
More on San Marino: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers
Here in San Marino, 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 San Marino.
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Population: 19,721
Median Income: $171,302
Unemployment Rate: 5.2%
Poverty Rate: 6.5%
More on Agoura Hills: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers
Agoura Hills ranks as the 4th best suburb of Santa Clarita for 2026.
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.
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Population: 10,421
Median Income: $194,421
Unemployment Rate: 6.7%
Poverty Rate: 12.6%
More on Malibu: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers
Coming in as the fifth best is Malibu.
Malibu gets kudos for having the 3rd most expensive homes in the Santa Clarita area, where houses sell for an average of $3,142,247. However, the cost of living here is among the highest in the area.
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Population: 22,669
Median Income: $165,288
Unemployment Rate: 10.6%
Poverty Rate: 8.8%
More on Calabasas: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers
Calabasas 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 10.56%.
According to online reports, Calabasas is quickly becoming one of the more affluent suburbs in the Santa Clarita area, meaning you need to get in soon.
Stuck up ppl with nothing to do. High school kids are superficial with lots of drug activity
Many ppl badmouth Calabasas
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Population: 91,169
Median Income: $114,885
Unemployment Rate: 6.7%
Poverty Rate: 11.2%
More on Santa Monica: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers
The 7th best suburb on our list goes to Santa Monica.
Santa Monica 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 26.2 miles to downtown, which is a good thing.
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Population: 31,624
Median Income: $132,977
Unemployment Rate: 8.3%
Poverty Rate: 9.6%
More on Beverly Hills: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers
Beverly Hills 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 4.56% of people lack insurance, good for 12th in the area.
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Population: 35,854
Median Income: $148,480
Unemployment Rate: 5.1%
Poverty Rate: 4.9%
More on Moorpark: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers
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.
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Population: 125,634
Median Income: $122,081
Unemployment Rate: 5.0%
Poverty Rate: 6.4%
More on Simi Valley: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Movers
And rounding out the top ten for 2026 is Simi Valley.
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 2026
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 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 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, Hidden Hills.
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 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 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 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 | Hidden Hills, CA | 2,150 | $250,001 | $5,059,062 |
| 2 | South Pasadena, CA | 26,068 | $127,175 | $1,692,677 |
| 3 | San Marino, CA | 12,216 | $214,167 | $2,837,216 |
| 4 | Agoura Hills, CA | 19,721 | $171,302 | $1,259,726 |
| 5 | Malibu, CA | 10,421 | $194,421 | $3,142,247 |
| 6 | Calabasas, CA | 22,669 | $165,288 | $1,722,904 |
| 7 | Santa Monica, CA | 91,169 | $114,885 | $1,703,947 |
| 8 | Beverly Hills, CA | 31,624 | $132,977 | $3,662,756 |
| 9 | Moorpark, CA | 35,854 | $148,480 | $939,094 |
| 10 | Simi Valley, CA | 125,634 | $122,081 | $844,909 |
| 11 | Thousand Oaks, CA | 125,205 | $135,603 | $1,049,633 |
| 12 | West Hollywood, CA | 34,884 | $96,995 | $1,019,551 |
| 13 | Fillmore, CA | 16,816 | $92,931 | $690,118 |
| 14 | Pasadena, CA | 136,969 | $105,192 | $1,209,228 |
| 15 | Glendale, CA | 190,748 | $88,393 | $1,201,879 |
| 16 | San Fernando, CA | 23,632 | $83,024 | $753,549 |
| 17 | Westlake, CA | 4,743 | $68,381 | $174,865 |
| 18 | Los Angeles, CA | 3,857,263 | $81,939 | $952,183 |
| 19 | Lancaster, CA | 169,169 | $81,511 | $465,846 |
| 20 | Palmdale, CA | 164,634 | $81,770 | $501,257 |
