Best Places90266, CA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 90266, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Local pay runs high here, and housing takes the biggest bite out of it. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
90266 ranks 727th 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 90266
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.
90266's strengths and weaknesses
Where 90266 ranks high
- Nice weatherabout 342 pleasant days a year, better than 99% of zip codes
- Household income$210,561 median, better than 99% of zip codes
- Educational attainmentBetter than 99% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than 98% of zip codes
- Health outlookBetter than 98% of zip codes
Where 90266 ranks low
- Air qualityBetter than only 2% of zip codes
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 10% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 12% of zip codes
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 13% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 14% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 90266
A household needs to earn about $501,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 90266 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $210,561, 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 90266's effective rate of 0.62%, 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 90266
90266 runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 90266.
Who works in 90266, and how
Work in 90266 centers on professional & technical and health care & social. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 55%
- Work from home 37%
- Transit, walk, or bike 8%
Life in 90266
90266 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 83% of zip codes and more late-night spots per resident than 87% of zip codes. The coast is about 1 minutes away. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 90266 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 90266, month by month
90266 sees roughly 342 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 90266
Los Angeles International sits about 4 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 90266
Schools across 90266 average an A, better than 88% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Richmond Street ElementaryA · 66% proficient
Top middle schools
- El Segundo MiddleA+ · 68% proficient
Top high schools
- Mira Costa HighA+ · 80% proficient
- El Segundo HighA− · 65% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 90266 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
90266 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 90266 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 90266 suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 73% of zip codes, internet is fast and widely advertised, and 37% already work from home.
Retirees
The weather beats 100% of zip codes and health care access beats 88%.
Common questions about living in 90266
Is 90266 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 90266 ranks 727th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on the weather, high incomes, and an educated workforce, 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 90266 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $1,964,287. The overall cost of living runs about 122% above the national average. Set against a $210,561 median income, cost of living beats 73% of zip codes.
Is 90266 safe?
90266 is safer than 24% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $482 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 90266?
July highs average about 76 degrees, and January highs near 68 with lows near 48. That works out to about 342 pleasant days a year, more than 100% of zip codes.
Is 90266 good for families?
Schools beat 88% of zip codes, crime safety beats 24%, and childcare runs $1,130 a month.
Compare 90266 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 90266. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 90266 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.
90266 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 90266: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 90266: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 90266: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 90266: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
90266 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.