Do you like your neighborhood?
Is it friendly, and where everyone knows their neighbors?
No matter if you live in the sticks or in an apartment building in downtown Long Beach, you have a little pocket that you can call home. And each neighborhood is different.
Smaller neighborhoods usually have obvious benefits — less crime, a slower pace of life, and a lower cost of living. But not all Long Beach neighborhoods are created equal. Some are better than others. But which ones?
Instead of relying on public opinion and speculation, we wanted to get the facts straight and find out which neighborhoods in Long Beach are the best. If you’re in one of the places we’re about to highlight, odds are you know you’ve got it made.
Here are the best neighborhoods in Long Beach for 2019:
- Park Estates (Homes)
- The Plaza (Homes)
- City College Area (Homes)
- Alamitos Heights (Homes)
- Lakewood Village (Homes)
- Los Altos (Homes)
- Bixby Knolls (Homes)
- Los Cerritos Area (Homes)
- Naples-Marina Area (Homes)
- El Dorado Park (Homes)
So what’s the best neighborhood to live in Long Beach for 2019? According to the most recent census data, Park Estates looks to be the best Long Beach neighborhood to live in.
Read on to see how we determined the places around Long Beach that deserve a little bragging rights or maybe you’re interested in the worst neighborhoods in Long Beach.
Once you’re done, you can look at the bottom of the story for a complete chart of every neighborhood we looked at from best to worst.
For more California reading, check out:
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How we determined the best Long Beach hoods in 2019
In order to rank the best neighborhoods in Long Beach, we had to determine what criteria defines a “best”.
Using crime, census, and extrapolated BLS data, we arrived at the following set of criteria:
- High incomes
- Low unemployment rates
- Low crime
- High home prices
- High population densities (A proxy for things to do)
We then ranked each neighborhood with scores from 1 to 27 in each category, where 1 was the best.
Next, we averaged the rankings for each neighborhood to create a best neighborhood index.
And finally, we crowned the neighborhood with the lowest best neighborhood index the “Best City Neighborhood In Long Beach.” We’re lookin’ at you, Park Estates.
Read on below to learn more about what it’s like to live in the best places Long Beach, California has to offer. Or skip to the end to see the list of all the neighborhoods in the city from best to worst.
/10
Population: 2,646
Rank Last Year: 7 (Up 6)
Median Home Value: $759,767 (2nd best)
Median Income: $91,803 (7th best)
More on Park Estates: Homes For Sale | Data
/10
Population: 21,865
Rank Last Year: 6 (Up 4)
Median Home Value: $553,678 (8th best)
Median Income: $101,520 (3rd best)
More on The Plaza: Homes For Sale | Data
Plaza is a neighborhood of Long Beach, California, located adjacent to El Dorado Park West. It is part of the greater “East Long Beach” area.
/10
Population: 10,097
Rank Last Year: 13 (Up 10)
Median Home Value: $483,400 (12th best)
Median Income: $102,980 (2nd best)
More on City College Area: Homes For Sale | Data
/10
Population: 2,873
Rank Last Year: 3 (Down 1)
Median Home Value: $673,967 (4th best)
Median Income: $90,102 (9th best)
More on Alamitos Heights: Homes For Sale | Data
Alamitos Heights is a neighborhood in the south-east portion of the city of Long Beach, California, United States.
/10
Population: 7,774
Rank Last Year: 2 (Down 3)
Median Home Value: $591,314 (6th best)
Median Income: $76,252 (13th best)
More on Lakewood Village: Homes For Sale | Data
Lakewood Village or simply known as the Village is a neighborhood in the northeast portion of the city of Long Beach, California. It is bordered on the west, north and east sides by the city of Lakewood. It is located south of Del Amo Boulevard, north of Carson Street, east of Lakewood Boulevard and west of Bellflower Boulevard.
/10
Population: 13,766
Rank Last Year: 9 (Up 3)
Median Home Value: $531,288 (9th best)
Median Income: $92,172 (6th best)
More on Los Altos: Homes For Sale | Data
Los Altos is a neighborhood located on the east side of Long Beach. It is a quiet residential neighborhood with shopping at the Los Altos Shopping Center, where one can find a Target department store, Sears department store, Trader Joe’s, Lazy Acres grocery store, LA Fitness, and many other shops and stores. Florence Bixby Elementary School, Minnie Gant Elementary School, Stanford Middle School and Robert A. Millikan High School are located in Los Altos. The Los Altos YMCA is located on Bellflower Boulevard and The California State University at Long Beach is in Los Altos.
/10
Population: 4,610
Rank Last Year: 1 (Down 6)
Median Home Value: $695,625 (3rd best)
Median Income: $77,510 (12th best)
More on Bixby Knolls: Homes For Sale | Data
Bixby Knolls is an area of Long Beach adjoining North Long Beach to the north, California Heights on the southeast, Wrigley on the southwest. Its approximate boundaries are the 405 Freeway to the south, Del Amo Blvd to the north, the Los Angeles River and the Lakewood city boundary to the west of Atlantic Avenue, south of Bixby Road. Atlantic Avenue and Long Beach Boulevard are the main north-south arteries through the neighborhood. The neighborhood includes the Los Cerritos – Virginia Country Club and the original Los Cerritos Ranch House historic site.
/10
Population: 7,391
Rank Last Year: 8 (No Change)
Median Home Value: $508,075 (10th best)
Median Income: $91,663 (8th best)
More on Los Cerritos Area: Homes For Sale | Data
Los Cerritos is a neighborhood with approximately 700 homes and 2,000 residents located within the Bixby Knolls neighborhood of Long Beach, California. Established in 1906, the Los Cerritos neighborhood has been used by the film industry of Hollywood with its historic, estate-sized homes. It was one of three finalists in the 2007 Neighborhood of the Year national competition.
/10
Population: 8,881
Rank Last Year: 4 (Down 5)
Median Home Value: $896,633 (1st best)
Median Income: $96,927 (4th best)
More on Naples-Marina Area: Homes For Sale | Data
Naples is a neighborhood of Long Beach, California, United States, built on three islands located in Alamitos Bay. The islands are divided by canals which open into the bay. Most of the streets on the island have Italianate names. The center of Naples features a large fountain which serves as a popular meeting spot.
/10
Population: 5,378
Rank Last Year: 10 (No Change)
Median Home Value: $458,325 (15th best)
Median Income: $112,662 (1st best)
More on El Dorado Park: Homes For Sale | Data
The El Dorado Park neighborhood of Long Beach, California is on the east side of the city adjacent to the large El Dorado Regional Park. Lakewood is north of El Dorado Park, while Hawaiian Gardens is northeast, and Los Alamitos is east of El Dorado Park. The park is bounded on the east by the 605 Freeway, on the north by the Long Beach Town Center shopping mall, and on the south by Stearns Street. Because of the barrier of the freeway and park between the neighborhood and the rest of Long Beach, as well as the barrier created by near Norwalk Blvd and the Coyote creek and the neighboring cities, the El Dorado Park neighborhood feels quite separate.
Putting A Bow On Our Analysis Of The Best Neighborhoods In Long Beach
If you’re measuring the neighborhoods in Long Beach where crime is low and everyone wants to live, this is an accurate list.
As we mentioned earlier, the neighborhoods in Long Beach aren’t all good. Wilmington takes the title of the worst neighborhood to live in Long Beach.
We ranked the neighborhoods from best to worst in the chart below.
For more California reading, check out:
Detailed List Of The Best Neighborhoods To Live In Long Beach For 2019
Rank | Neighborhood | Population |
---|---|---|
1 | Park Estates | 2,646 |
2 | The Plaza | 21,865 |
3 | City College Area | 10,097 |
4 | Alamitos Heights | 2,873 |
5 | Lakewood Village | 7,774 |
6 | Los Altos | 13,766 |
7 | Bixby Knolls | 4,610 |
8 | Los Cerritos Area | 7,391 |
9 | Naples-Marina Area | 8,881 |
10 | El Dorado Park | 5,378 |
11 | State College Area | 9,427 |
12 | Californial Heights | 6,988 |
13 | Belmont Heights | 10,797 |
14 | Belmont Shore | 7,093 |
15 | East Side | 36,317 |
16 | Bixby Area | 14,916 |
17 | Circle Area | 28,815 |
18 | Dominguez | 363 |
19 | City Of Signal Hill | 10,207 |
20 | West Side | 25,143 |
21 | North West Long Beach | 10,728 |
22 | North Long Beach | 82,907 |
23 | Wrigley | 37,908 |
24 | Poly High District | 31,628 |
25 | Downtown | 72,348 |
26 | Airport Area | 416 |
27 | Wilmington | 2,146 |