Best PlacesPalos Verdes Peninsula, Torrance, CA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Palos Verdes Peninsula, Torrance, 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.
Palos Verdes Peninsula, Torrance ranks 420th of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on high incomes by a wide margin, and cell coverage ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Palos Verdes Peninsula, 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.
Palos Verdes Peninsula, Torrance's strengths and weaknesses
Where Palos Verdes Peninsula, Torrance ranks high
- Household income$211,826 median, better than 98% of neighborhoods
- Nice weatherabout 315 pleasant days a year, better than 98% of neighborhoods
- Healthcare accessBetter than 96% of neighborhoods
- Educational attainmentBetter than 95% of neighborhoods
- Big-city accessBetter than 93% of neighborhoods
Where Palos Verdes Peninsula, Torrance ranks low
- Cell coverageBetter than only 4% of neighborhoods
- Air qualityBetter than only 5% of neighborhoods
- WalkabilityBetter than only 13% of neighborhoods
- Short commute30.0 minutes each way, better than only 19% of neighborhoods
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 20% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in Palos Verdes Peninsula, Torrance
A household needs to earn about $486,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Palos Verdes Peninsula, Torrance home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $211,826, 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 Palos Verdes Peninsula, Torrance'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 Palos Verdes Peninsula, Torrance
Palos Verdes Peninsula, Torrance runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Palos Verdes Peninsula, Torrance.
Who works in Palos Verdes Peninsula, Torrance, and how
Work in Palos Verdes Peninsula, Torrance centers on professional & technical and health care & social. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 68%
- Work from home 25%
- Transit, walk, or bike 7%
Life in Palos Verdes Peninsula, Torrance
Palos Verdes Peninsula, Torrance has more parkland per resident than 69% of neighborhoods. The coast is about 3 minutes away. That concentrates in some parts of Palos Verdes Peninsula, Torrance and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Palos Verdes Peninsula, Torrance, month by month
Palos Verdes Peninsula, Torrance sees roughly 315 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 Palos Verdes Peninsula, Torrance
The nearest airport, Jack Northrop Field/Hawthorne Municipal, is about 10 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Los Angeles International, about 11 miles away.
The best schools in and around Palos Verdes Peninsula, Torrance
Schools across Palos Verdes Peninsula, Torrance average an A−, better than 82% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Rancho Vista ElementaryD+ · 25% proficient
Top middle schools
- Miraleste IntermediateD+ · 25% proficient
Top high schools
- South HighD+ · 25% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Palos Verdes Peninsula, Torrance school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Palos Verdes Peninsula, 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 Palos Verdes Peninsula, Torrance against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Who Palos Verdes Peninsula, Torrance suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 89% of neighborhoods, internet is fast and widely advertised, and 25% already work from home.
Retirees
The weather beats 98% of neighborhoods, health care access beats 96%, and it is quieter than 82%.
Common questions about living in Palos Verdes Peninsula, Torrance
Is Palos Verdes Peninsula, Torrance a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Palos Verdes Peninsula, Torrance ranks 420th of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on high incomes, the weather, and health care access, and lowest on cell coverage and air quality. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Palos Verdes Peninsula, Torrance expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $1,887,657. The overall cost of living runs about 74% above the national average. Set against a $211,826 median income, cost of living beats 89% of neighborhoods.
Is Palos Verdes Peninsula, Torrance safe?
Yes, Palos Verdes Peninsula, Torrance is safer than 62% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $410 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Palos Verdes Peninsula, Torrance?
July highs average about 79 degrees, and January highs near 67 with lows near 48. That works out to about 315 pleasant days a year, more than 98% of neighborhoods.
Is Palos Verdes Peninsula, Torrance good for families?
Schools beat 82% of neighborhoods, crime safety beats 62%, and childcare runs $1,130 a month.
Compare Palos Verdes Peninsula, Torrance with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Palos Verdes Peninsula, Torrance. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Palos Verdes Peninsula, 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.
Palos Verdes Peninsula, Torrance detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Palos Verdes Peninsula, Torrance: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Palos Verdes Peninsula, Torrance: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Palos Verdes Peninsula, Torrance: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Palos Verdes Peninsula, Torrance: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Palos Verdes Peninsula, 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.