Best Places90254, CA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 90254, 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.
90254 ranks 585th 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 90254
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.
90254's strengths and weaknesses
Where 90254 ranks high
- Nice weatherabout 337 pleasant days a year, better than 99% of zip codes
- Health outlookBetter than 99% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than 98% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than 98% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than 98% of zip codes
Where 90254 ranks low
- Air qualityBetter than only 2% of zip codes
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 10% of zip codes
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 12% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 14% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than only 14% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 90254
A household needs to earn about $493,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 90254 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $170,829, 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 90254's effective rate of 0.59%, 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 90254
90254 runs older than the country, though fewer residents are over 65 than the national share, 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 90254.
Who works in 90254, and how
Work in 90254 centers on professional & technical and manufacturing. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 56%
- Work from home 38%
- Transit, walk, or bike 5%
Life in 90254
90254 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 87% of zip codes. The coast is about 0 minutes away. That concentrates in some parts of 90254 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 90254, month by month
90254 sees roughly 337 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 76 degrees. January highs sit near 68, with lows near 48. Every month averages in that range.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 68° | 57° | 48° |
| April | 70° | 61° | 54° |
| July | 76° | 69° | 64° |
| October | 78° | 67° | 60° |
Flying in and out of 90254
The nearest airport, Jack Northrop Field/Hawthorne Municipal, is about 5 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Los Angeles International, about 5 miles away.
The best schools in and around 90254
Schools across 90254 average an A, better than 88% of zip codes.
Top high schools
- Mira Costa HighA+ · 80% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 90254 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
90254 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 90254 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 90254
Is 90254 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 90254 ranks 585th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on the weather, population health, and walkability, and lowest on air quality and taxes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 90254 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $1,942,991. The overall cost of living runs about 98% above the national average. Set against a $170,829 median income, cost of living beats 65% of zip codes.
Is 90254 safe?
90254 is safer than 14% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $552 per resident a year.
Compare 90254 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 90254. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 90254 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.
90254 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 90254: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 90254: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 90254: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 90254: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
90254 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.