Best PlacesNorth Torrance, Torrance, CA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around North Torrance, Torrance, 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.
North Torrance, Torrance ranks 1,982nd of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on the weather by a wide margin, and air quality ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in North Torrance, Torrance
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.
North Torrance, Torrance's strengths and weaknesses
Where North Torrance, Torrance ranks high
- Nice weatherabout 333 pleasant days a year, better than 99% of neighborhoods
- Big-city accessBetter than 95% of neighborhoods
- Low property taxBetter than 79% of neighborhoods
- Health outlookBetter than 77% of neighborhoods
- Household income$107,657 median, better than 73% of neighborhoods
Where North Torrance, Torrance ranks low
- Air qualityBetter than only 4% of neighborhoods
- Tree shadeBetter than only 12% of neighborhoods
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 17% of neighborhoods
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 20% of neighborhoods
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 26% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in North Torrance, Torrance
A household needs to earn about $227,000 a year to comfortably buy the median North Torrance, Torrance home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $107,657, 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 North Torrance, Torrance's effective rate of 0.64%, 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 North Torrance, Torrance
North Torrance, Torrance runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for North Torrance, Torrance.
Who works in North Torrance, Torrance, and how
Work in North Torrance, Torrance centers on health care & social and manufacturing. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 82%
- Work from home 12%
- Transit, walk, or bike 6%
Life in North Torrance, Torrance
North Torrance, Torrance has more restaurants and bars per resident than 66% of neighborhoods and more parkland per resident than 82% of neighborhoods. The coast is about 5 minutes away. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of North Torrance, Torrance and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in North Torrance, Torrance, month by month
North Torrance, Torrance sees roughly 333 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 79 degrees. January highs sit near 69, with lows near 49. Every month averages in that range.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 69° | 58° | 49° |
| April | 72° | 62° | 55° |
| July | 79° | 71° | 65° |
| October | 80° | 68° | 61° |
Flying in and out of North Torrance, Torrance
The nearest airport, Jack Northrop Field/Hawthorne Municipal, is about 4 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Los Angeles International, about 7 miles away.
The best schools in and around North Torrance, Torrance
Schools across North Torrance, Torrance average a B, better than 70% of neighborhoods.
Top middle schools
- Adams MiddleD+ · 25% proficient
Top high schools
- Early College Academy-la Trade Tech CollegeB · 50% proficient
- Lawndale HighD · 23% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every North Torrance, Torrance school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
North Torrance, Torrance 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 North Torrance, Torrance against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Who North Torrance, Torrance suits
Retirees
The weather beats 99% of neighborhoods and health care access beats 56%.
Common questions about living in North Torrance, Torrance
Is North Torrance, Torrance a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, North Torrance, Torrance ranks 1,982nd of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on the weather, big-city access, and low property taxes, and lowest on air quality and tree cover. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is North Torrance, Torrance expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $887,698. The overall cost of living runs about 46% above the national average. Set against a $107,657 median income, cost of living beats 40% of neighborhoods.
Is North Torrance, Torrance safe?
North Torrance, Torrance is safer than 54% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $445 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in North Torrance, Torrance?
July highs average about 79 degrees, and January highs near 69 with lows near 49. That works out to about 333 pleasant days a year, more than 99% of neighborhoods.
Is North Torrance, Torrance good for families?
Schools beat 70% of neighborhoods, crime safety beats 54%, and childcare runs $1,130 a month.
Compare North Torrance, Torrance with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to North Torrance, Torrance. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in North Torrance, Torrance 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.
North Torrance, Torrance detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for North Torrance, Torrance: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in North Torrance, Torrance: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of North Torrance, Torrance: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in North Torrance, Torrance: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
North Torrance, Torrance 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.