Best Places90501, CA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 90501, 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.
90501 ranks 8,341st 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 90501
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.
90501's strengths and weaknesses
Where 90501 ranks high
- Nice weatherabout 328 pleasant days a year, better than 99% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than 99% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than 96% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than 95% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than 94% of zip codes
Where 90501 ranks low
- Air qualityBetter than only 2% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 8% of zip codes
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 10% of zip codes
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 13% of zip codes
- Tree shadeBetter than only 13% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 90501
A household needs to earn about $230,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 90501 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $98,716, 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 90501's effective rate of 0.69%, 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 90501
90501's age mix sits close to the national median, and households here run larger than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 90501.
Who works in 90501, and how
Work in 90501 centers on health care & social and manufacturing. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 82%
- Work from home 14%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in 90501
90501 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 70% of zip codes and more late-night spots per resident than 72% of zip codes. The coast is about 6 minutes away. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 90501 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 90501, month by month
90501 sees roughly 328 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 79 degrees. January highs sit near 67, with lows near 48. Every month averages in that range.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 67° | 59° | 48° |
| April | 71° | 64° | 53° |
| July | 79° | 73° | 64° |
| October | 78° | 70° | 58° |
Flying in and out of 90501
The nearest airport, Jack Northrop Field/Hawthorne Municipal, is about 7 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Los Angeles International, about 10 miles away.
The best schools in and around 90501
Schools across 90501 average a C+, better than 50% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Howard Wood ElementaryD+ · 25% proficient
Top high schools
- Early College Academy-la Trade Tech CollegeB · 50% proficient
- Humanities And Arts (harts) Academy Of Los AngelesC+ · 38% proficient
- Gardena Senior HighC · 31% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 90501 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
90501 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 90501 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 90501 suits
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 14% already work from home.
Common questions about living in 90501
Is 90501 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 90501 ranks 8,341st of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on the weather, big-city access, and transit, and lowest on air quality and disaster risk. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 90501 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $892,241. The overall cost of living runs about 42% above the national average. Set against a $98,716 median income, cost of living beats 24% of zip codes.
Is 90501 safe?
90501 is safer than 27% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $439 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 90501?
July highs average about 79 degrees, and January highs near 67 with lows near 48. That works out to about 328 pleasant days a year, more than 100% of zip codes.
Is 90501 good for families?
Schools beat 50% of zip codes, crime safety beats 27%, and childcare runs $1,130 a month.
Compare 90501 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 90501. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 90501 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.
90501 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 90501: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 90501: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 90501: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 90501: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
90501 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.