While big cities like Long Beach 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 Long Beach. These burbs have all of the benefits of being near Long Beach without actually having to be in the city.
Of course, not all suburbs of Long Beach 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 Long Beach area.
Table Of Contents: Top Ten | Methodology | Summary | Table
The 10 best suburbs to live around Long Beach for 2024:
What’s the best suburb of Long Beach? Manhattan Beach ranks as the best suburb of Long Beach for 2024 based on the most recent Census and FBI data. If you happen to be a resident of Manhattan Beach, you’re probably not too surprised to find it on the top our list.
We’ll tell you what makes each of these 10 Long Beach ‘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 Long Beach Suburbs To Live For 2024
/10
Population: 35,123
Median Income: $187,217
Unemployment Rate: 3.8%
Poverty Rate: 3.2%
More on Manhattan Beach: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate
Manhattan Beach is always mentioned as one of the best suburbs in the Long Beach area. We’ll tell you the good about “Awesome Manhattan Beach.”
Everyone here is rich; families average $187,217 a year, which is the 3rd highest in the Long Beach region. And only 3.84% are out of work. Homes average more than $2,990,671 each.
/10
Population: 19,551
Median Income: $149,500
Unemployment Rate: 4.9%
Poverty Rate: 5.8%
More on Hermosa Beach: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate
Hermosa Beach is the second best ‘burb we looked at near Long Beach for 2024.
It ranks 8th for incomes in the area and only 2.56% of residents lack insurance, good for 12th best.
/10
Population: 13,219
Median Income: $224,766
Unemployment Rate: 2.3%
Poverty Rate: 3.8%
More on Palos Verdes Estates: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate
Here in Palos Verdes Estates, it’s really safe, and residents are just about as rich as you’ll see in the Long Beach 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: 70,620
Median Income: $134,033
Unemployment Rate: 5.0%
Poverty Rate: 5.3%
More on Redondo Beach: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate
Redondo Beach ranks as the 4th best suburb of Long Beach for 2024.
You won’t find many better places to raise your kids in the region than in Redondo Beach and the schools are some of the best around.
/10
Population: 26,583
Median Income: $127,882
Unemployment Rate: 5.2%
Poverty Rate: 4.8%
More on South Pasadena: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate
Coming in as the fifth best is South Pasadena.
South Pasadena gets kudos for having the 12th most expensive homes in the Long Beach area, where houses sell for an average of $1,650,214. However, the cost of living here is among the highest in the area.
/10
Population: 5,814
Median Income: $189,306
Unemployment Rate: 1.3%
Poverty Rate: 7.2%
More on Villa Park: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate
Villa Park 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 1.27%.
According to online reports, Villa Park is quickly becoming one of the more affluent suburbs in the Long Beach area, meaning you need to get in soon.
/10
Population: 85,159
Median Income: $149,471
Unemployment Rate: 4.1%
Poverty Rate: 7.9%
More on Newport Beach: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate
The 7th best suburb on our list goes to Newport Beach.
Newport Beach 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 21.1 miles to downtown, which is a good thing.
/10
Population: 41,805
Median Income: $166,747
Unemployment Rate: 5.1%
Poverty Rate: 4.0%
More on Rancho Palos Verdes: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate
Rancho Palos Verdes 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 2.49% of people lack insurance, good for 10th in the area.
/10
Population: 5,599
Median Income: $179,990
Unemployment Rate: 1.8%
Poverty Rate: 4.1%
More on La Habra Heights: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate
Is ‘Everything Better In La Habra Heights?’
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: 68,035
Median Income: $148,325
Unemployment Rate: 4.6%
Poverty Rate: 6.0%
More on Yorba Linda: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate
And rounding out the top ten for 2024 is Yorba Linda.
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 Long Beach for 2024
Figuring out the best suburbs around Long Beach 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 2018-2022 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 Long Beach.
Additionally, we limited the analysis to places that have over 3,000 people. This left us with a grand total of 97 suburbs to evaluate around Long Beach.
We ranked each place with scores from 1 to 97 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 Long Beach.” 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 2024. This report is our tenth time ranking the best Long Beach suburbs. Skip to the end to see the list of all the suburbs ranked from best to worst.
Summary: Welcome to the Best Long Beach ‘Burbs of 2024
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 Long Beach are .
So if you’re craving the amenities of a larger city like Long Beach 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 Long Beach Suburbs
| Rank | City | Population | Median Income | Average Home Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Manhattan Beach, CA | 35,123 | $187,217 | $2,990,671 |
| 2 | Hermosa Beach, CA | 19,551 | $149,500 | $2,169,343 |
| 3 | Palos Verdes Estates, CA | 13,219 | $224,766 | $2,717,769 |
| 4 | Redondo Beach, CA | 70,620 | $134,033 | $1,379,761 |
| 5 | South Pasadena, CA | 26,583 | $127,882 | $1,650,214 |
| 6 | Villa Park, CA | 5,814 | $189,306 | $2,030,498 |
| 7 | Newport Beach, CA | 85,159 | $149,471 | $3,132,424 |
| 8 | Rancho Palos Verdes, CA | 41,805 | $166,747 | $1,836,118 |
| 9 | La Habra Heights, CA | 5,599 | $179,990 | $1,294,550 |
| 10 | Yorba Linda, CA | 68,035 | $148,325 | $1,245,181 |
| 11 | El Segundo, CA | 17,081 | $142,596 | $1,606,335 |
| 12 | Aliso Viejo, CA | 51,896 | $131,708 | $915,734 |
| 13 | Sierra Madre, CA | 11,151 | $128,056 | $1,347,845 |
| 14 | San Marino, CA | 12,442 | $174,253 | $2,524,471 |
| 15 | La Palma, CA | 15,522 | $113,398 | $1,059,180 |
| 16 | Laguna Beach, CA | 22,943 | $141,875 | $2,817,490 |
| 17 | Cerritos, CA | 49,016 | $124,460 | $1,003,485 |
| 18 | Rolling Hills Estates, CA | 8,214 | $179,917 | $1,986,586 |
| 19 | Torrance, CA | 145,454 | $109,554 | $1,140,607 |
| 20 | Walnut, CA | 28,212 | $130,444 | $1,093,688 |
| 21 | Huntington Beach, CA | 197,481 | $114,747 | $1,206,669 |
| 22 | Lake Forest, CA | 85,583 | $128,358 | $1,056,345 |
| 23 | Brea, CA | 47,099 | $120,226 | $1,019,390 |
| 24 | Cypress, CA | 49,955 | $117,461 | $964,692 |
| 25 | Arcadia, CA | 56,181 | $108,214 | $1,326,864 |
| 26 | La Mirada, CA | 47,644 | $104,130 | $822,102 |
| 27 | Fountain Valley, CA | 56,754 | $108,860 | $1,200,770 |
| 28 | Santa Monica, CA | 92,168 | $106,797 | $1,685,607 |
| 29 | Lakewood, CA | 81,499 | $113,030 | $814,339 |
| 30 | Placentia, CA | 51,797 | $106,155 | $973,725 |
| 31 | Diamond Bar, CA | 54,534 | $106,881 | $934,630 |
| 32 | Irvine, CA | 304,527 | $122,948 | $1,331,528 |
| 33 | Beverly Hills, CA | 32,406 | $116,771 | $3,641,358 |
| 34 | Seal Beach, CA | 25,046 | $75,507 | $900,528 |
| 35 | West Hollywood, CA | 35,358 | $89,034 | $1,048,481 |
| 36 | Orange, CA | 138,728 | $109,335 | $991,595 |
| 37 | Lomita, CA | 20,662 | $87,717 | $879,224 |
| 38 | Glendora, CA | 52,095 | $106,718 | $836,144 |
| 39 | Costa Mesa, CA | 111,490 | $104,981 | $1,211,464 |
| 40 | Chino Hills, CA | 78,223 | $117,548 | $913,774 |
| 41 | Burbank, CA | 106,389 | $91,455 | $1,128,292 |
| 42 | Buena Park, CA | 83,542 | $101,586 | $834,048 |
| 43 | Signal Hill, CA | 11,678 | $96,385 | $695,986 |
| 44 | San Dimas, CA | 34,466 | $102,241 | $863,283 |
| 45 | Pasadena, CA | 137,554 | $97,818 | $1,092,011 |
| 46 | Alhambra, CA | 82,295 | $80,234 | $883,188 |
| 47 | Tustin, CA | 79,514 | $102,065 | $1,015,712 |
| 48 | Los Alamitos, CA | 11,728 | $100,987 | $1,427,481 |
| 49 | Whittier, CA | 86,459 | $89,686 | $756,497 |
| 50 | Covina, CA | 50,717 | $89,650 | $739,542 |
| 51 | Monterey Park, CA | 60,386 | $76,892 | $879,700 |
| 52 | Downey, CA | 113,052 | $84,236 | $809,809 |
| 53 | Monrovia, CA | 37,656 | $93,827 | $933,244 |
| 54 | West Covina, CA | 108,173 | $96,219 | $785,843 |
| 55 | Norwalk, CA | 101,893 | $91,259 | $694,399 |
| 56 | Fullerton, CA | 142,280 | $99,279 | $936,138 |
| 57 | Gardena, CA | 60,377 | $75,443 | $752,319 |
| 58 | San Gabriel, CA | 39,211 | $84,056 | $1,017,443 |
| 59 | Rosemead, CA | 51,043 | $70,073 | $827,126 |
| 60 | Temple, CA | 5,395 | $71,917 | $278,708 |
| 61 | Duarte, CA | 21,686 | $93,908 | $736,339 |
| 62 | La Habra, CA | 62,904 | $93,801 | $802,058 |
| 63 | Garden Grove, CA | 171,637 | $86,139 | $867,160 |
| 64 | Pico Rivera, CA | 61,561 | $82,539 | $694,218 |
| 65 | Santa Fe Springs, CA | 18,840 | $81,500 | $711,899 |
| 66 | Carson, CA | 94,475 | $103,045 | $750,385 |
| 67 | Artesia, CA | 16,237 | $92,702 | $765,251 |
| 68 | Glendale, CA | 194,512 | $81,219 | $1,134,103 |
| 69 | Laguna Woods, CA | 17,452 | $56,928 | $409,471 |
| 70 | Anaheim, CA | 347,111 | $88,538 | $844,174 |
| 71 | Santa Ana, CA | 311,379 | $84,210 | $753,174 |
| 72 | Westminster, CA | 90,638 | $80,271 | $952,142 |
| 73 | La Puente, CA | 37,835 | $77,702 | $655,653 |
| 74 | Midway, CA | 3,500 | $58,393 | $252,104 |
| 75 | Lawndale, CA | 31,553 | $76,213 | $744,065 |
| 76 | Hawaiian Gardens, CA | 14,011 | $73,510 | $571,342 |
| 77 | Stanton, CA | 38,271 | $76,123 | $701,971 |
| 78 | Hawthorne, CA | 86,978 | $72,298 | $845,860 |
| 79 | Los Angeles, CA | 3,881,041 | $76,244 | $926,593 |
| 80 | Bellflower, CA | 78,352 | $75,379 | $736,258 |
| 81 | Azusa, CA | 49,704 | $81,516 | $657,103 |
| 82 | Paramount, CA | 53,255 | $67,197 | $599,020 |
| 83 | Baldwin Park, CA | 71,692 | $76,002 | $653,339 |
| 84 | Montebello, CA | 62,056 | $72,317 | $752,515 |
| 85 | Inglewood, CA | 106,806 | $67,563 | $724,865 |
| 86 | Maywood, CA | 25,009 | $57,615 | $603,697 |
| 87 | El Monte, CA | 108,682 | $59,929 | $705,480 |
| 88 | Commerce, CA | 12,253 | $66,071 | $636,672 |
| 89 | South Gate, CA | 92,381 | $67,188 | $635,980 |
| 90 | Pomona, CA | 149,831 | $73,515 | $619,187 |
| 91 | Bell Gardens, CA | 39,263 | $53,935 | $632,331 |
| 92 | Bell, CA | 33,377 | $56,685 | $634,376 |
| 93 | South El Monte, CA | 19,694 | $67,724 | $697,787 |
| 94 | Lynwood, CA | 66,346 | $67,350 | $624,911 |
| 95 | Compton, CA | 94,822 | $69,728 | $584,418 |
| 96 | Huntington Park, CA | 54,547 | $54,073 | $613,597 |
| 97 | Cudahy, CA | 22,657 | $49,596 | $624,322 |
