Best Places90212, CA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 90212, 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.
90212 ranks 1,642nd 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 90212
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.
90212's strengths and weaknesses
Where 90212 ranks high
- Nice weatherabout 339 pleasant days a year, better than 99% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than 99% of zip codes
- Educational attainmentBetter than 98% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than 98% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than 98% of zip codes
Where 90212 ranks low
- Air qualityBetter than only 2% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than only 9% of zip codes
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 9% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 9% of zip codes
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 10% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 90212
A household needs to earn about $493,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 90212 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $132,772, 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 90212's effective rate of 0.39%, 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 90212
90212 runs older 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 90212.
Who works in 90212, and how
Work in 90212 centers on professional & technical and health care & social. Unemployment runs well above the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 57%
- Work from home 31%
- Transit, walk, or bike 12%
Life in 90212
90212 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 92% of zip codes. The coast is about 6 minutes away. That concentrates in some parts of 90212 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 90212, month by month
90212 sees roughly 339 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 76 degrees. January highs sit near 68, with lows near 47. Every month averages in that range.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 68° | 57° | 47° |
| April | 69° | 60° | 53° |
| July | 76° | 68° | 63° |
| October | 78° | 67° | 58° |
Flying in and out of 90212
Los Angeles International sits about 8 miles away. It is a large hub and boarded 36.7 million passengers in 2025, with 247 nonstop destinations.
The best schools in and around 90212
Schools across 90212 average a B+, better than 78% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Hawthorne ElementaryA− · 61% proficient
- Horace Mann ElementaryA− · 58% proficient
Top middle schools
- Beverly Vista MiddleA · 59% proficient
Top high schools
- Beverly Hills HighB+ · 56% proficient
- 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 90212 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
90212 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 90212 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 90212
Is 90212 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 90212 ranks 1,642nd of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on the weather, walkability, and an educated workforce, and lowest on air quality and crime. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 90212 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $2,000,001. The overall cost of living runs about 82% above the national average. Set against a $132,772 median income, cost of living beats 49% of zip codes.
Is 90212 safe?
90212 is safer than 9% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $695 per resident a year.
Compare 90212 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 90212. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 90212 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.
90212 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 90212: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 90212: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 90212: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 90212: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
90212 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.