Best PlacesPlaya del Ray, Playa Del Rey, CA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Playa del Ray, Playa Del Rey, 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.
Playa del Ray, Playa Del Rey ranks 875th 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 Playa del Ray, Playa Del Rey
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.
Playa del Ray, Playa Del Rey's strengths and weaknesses
Where Playa del Ray, Playa Del Rey ranks high
- Nice weatherabout 342 pleasant days a year, better than 99% of neighborhoods
- Big-city accessBetter than 94% of neighborhoods
- Health outlookBetter than 93% of neighborhoods
- Household income$143,675 median, better than 90% of neighborhoods
- Educational attainmentBetter than 88% of neighborhoods
Where Playa del Ray, Playa Del Rey ranks low
- Air qualityBetter than only 4% of neighborhoods
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 19% of neighborhoods
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 20% of neighborhoods
- Tree shadeBetter than only 25% of neighborhoods
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 25% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in Playa del Ray, Playa Del Rey
A household needs to earn about $343,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Playa del Ray, Playa Del Rey home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $143,675, 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 Playa del Ray, Playa Del Rey's effective rate of 0.74%, 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 Playa del Ray, Playa Del Rey
Playa del Ray, Playa Del Rey runs older than the country, 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 Playa del Ray, Playa Del Rey.
Who works in Playa del Ray, Playa Del Rey, and how
Work in Playa del Ray, Playa Del Rey centers on professional & technical and information. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 62%
- Work from home 33%
- Transit, walk, or bike 6%
Life in Playa del Ray, Playa Del Rey
The coast is about 3 minutes away. Distance to the water changes a lot across Playa del Ray, Playa Del Rey, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Playa del Ray, Playa Del Rey, month by month
Playa del Ray, Playa Del Rey 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 Playa del Ray, Playa Del Rey
Los Angeles International sits about 2 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 Playa del Ray, Playa Del Rey
Schools across Playa del Ray, Playa Del Rey average a C+, better than 54% of neighborhoods.
Top high schools
- Early College Academy-la Trade Tech CollegeB · 50% proficient
- Wish Academy HighC− · 28% proficient
- Wesm Health/sports MedicineD+ · 25% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Playa del Ray, Playa Del Rey school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Playa del Ray, Playa Del Rey 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 Playa del Ray, Playa Del Rey against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in Playa del Ray, Playa Del Rey
Is Playa del Ray, Playa Del Rey a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Playa del Ray, Playa Del Rey ranks 875th of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on the weather, big-city access, and population health, 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 Playa del Ray, Playa Del Rey expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $1,324,147. The overall cost of living runs about 58% above the national average. Set against a $143,675 median income, cost of living beats 69% of neighborhoods.
Is Playa del Ray, Playa Del Rey safe?
Yes, Playa del Ray, Playa Del Rey is safer than 60% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $425 per resident a year.
Compare Playa del Ray, Playa Del Rey with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Playa del Ray, Playa Del Rey. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Playa del Ray, Playa Del Rey 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.
Playa del Ray, Playa Del Rey detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Playa del Ray, Playa Del Rey: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Playa del Ray, Playa Del Rey: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Playa del Ray, Playa Del Rey: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Playa del Ray, Playa Del Rey: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Playa del Ray, Playa Del Rey 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.