Best Places90038, CA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 90038, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. The coast is close, and the measures below put a number on how close. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
90038 ranks 21,569th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on the weather by a wide margin, and air quality ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 90038
BestNeighborhood is the only ranking that scores 40 measures of daily life neighborhood by neighborhood and lets you re-weight every one of them yourself.
90038's strengths and weaknesses
Where 90038 ranks high
- Nice weatherabout 306 pleasant days a year, better than 99% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than 99% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than 99% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than 99% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than 98% of zip codes
Where 90038 ranks low
- Air qualityBetter than only 1% of zip codes
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 3% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 3% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than only 4% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 5% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 90038
A household needs to earn about $348,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 90038 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $64,777, so buying stretches a typical household.
Where the monthly payment goes
Assumes a 20% down payment, a 6.6% 30-year fixed rate, and a 28% share of income going to the payment. The rate is the 2026-07-23 30-year fixed average, series MORTGAGE30US from the St. Louis Fed, which publishes Freddie Mac's weekly survey. Against the median home value, property tax uses 90038's effective rate of 0.79%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices and rents, renting stays cheaper than buying across the first 10 years here, so the case for buying rests on staying much longer or on prices rising faster than assumed. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 90038
90038 runs younger than the country, and households here run smaller than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 90038.
Who works in 90038, and how
Work in 90038 centers on hospitality & food and retail trade. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 60%
- Work from home 18%
- Transit, walk, or bike 22%
Life in 90038
90038 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 83% of zip codes. The coast is about 12 minutes away. That concentrates in some parts of 90038 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 90038, month by month
90038 sees roughly 306 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 85 degrees. January highs sit near 70, with lows near 48. Every month averages in that range.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 70° | 58° | 48° |
| April | 76° | 64° | 55° |
| July | 85° | 73° | 65° |
| October | 82° | 69° | 60° |
Flying in and out of 90038
Bob Hope sits about 8 miles away. It is a medium hub and boarded 3.1 million passengers in 2025, with 54 nonstop destinations.
The best schools in and around 90038
Schools across 90038 average a C, better than 38% of zip codes.
Top high schools
- Early College Academy-la Trade Tech CollegeB · 50% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 90038 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
90038 measure by measure
Cards are ordered by how much each measure matters to you, so the ones you weighted highest come first. Expand to see every measure. Percentages compare 90038 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 90038 suits
Common questions about living in 90038
Is 90038 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 90038 ranks 21,569th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on the weather, biking, and walkability, and lowest on air quality and the cost of living against local pay. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 90038 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $1,331,216. The overall cost of living runs about 42% above the national average. Set against a $64,777 median income, cost of living beats 3% of zip codes.
Is 90038 safe?
90038 is safer than 4% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $838 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 90038?
July highs average about 85 degrees, and January highs near 70 with lows near 48. That works out to about 306 pleasant days a year, more than 100% of zip codes.
Is 90038 good for families?
Schools beat 38% of zip codes, crime safety beats 4%, and childcare runs $1,130 a month.
Compare 90038 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 90038. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 90038 represents the same real quantity as a 60 anywhere else, and the ranking is a weighted average of those absolutes. The map colors come from a national scale calibrated against a population weighted random sample of 5,000 neighborhoods. That absolute scoring is what no other places-to-live ranking does: it puts a single neighborhood, a town, a metro, and a state on one scale, so the same 40 measures answer both which metro to move to and which street inside it to buy on. Read the full methodology.
90038 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 90038: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 90038: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 90038: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 90038: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
90038 detail on related sites:
- CrimeGrade: neighborhood crime rates behind the crime safety score.
- ISPreports.org: provider by provider internet availability and advertised speeds.
- CoverageWatch: the car insurance premiums behind the cheap car insurance score.
Federal and public data:
- U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey: income, home value, rent, vacancy, commute time and mode, educational attainment, home age, age structure, household type, industry, and race.
- NOAA Global Surface Summary of the Day: the daily station record behind the monthly temperatures and the pleasant-day count.
- FAA Passenger Boarding Data: airport size and annual passenger counts.
- Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey: the 30-year fixed rate used in the cost-to-buy estimate.
- FBI Crime Data Explorer: reported offenses behind the tangible crime cost estimate.
- U.S. EPA Air Quality System: five year average air quality index.
- FEMA National Risk Index: expected annual loss from natural hazards.
- CDC PLACES: disease burden, preventable risk, and barriers to care.
- National Center for Education Statistics: school enrollment and assessment inputs behind the school grade.
- FCC National Broadband Map: internet and wireless availability.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: employment and job growth behind the local economy score.
- Religious activity uses a proprietary religious signal measurement.
Your priorities
Move a slider to say how much a measure matters. Zero turns it off.