Best PlacesSawtelle, Los Angeles, CA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Sawtelle, Los Angeles, 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.
Sawtelle, Los Angeles ranks 956th 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 Sawtelle, Los Angeles
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.
Sawtelle, Los Angeles' strengths and weaknesses
Where Sawtelle, Los Angeles ranks high
- Nice weatherabout 339 pleasant days a year, better than 99% of neighborhoods
- Health outlookBetter than 96% of neighborhoods
- BikingBetter than 94% of neighborhoods
- Big-city accessBetter than 94% of neighborhoods
- WalkabilityBetter than 93% of neighborhoods
Where Sawtelle, Los Angeles ranks low
- Air qualityBetter than only 6% of neighborhoods
- Tree shadeBetter than only 10% of neighborhoods
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 14% of neighborhoods
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 20% of neighborhoods
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 22% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in Sawtelle, Los Angeles
A household needs to earn about $285,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Sawtelle, Los Angeles home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $116,599, 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 Sawtelle, Los Angeles' effective rate of 0.71%, 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 Sawtelle, Los Angeles
Sawtelle, Los Angeles runs younger 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 Sawtelle, Los Angeles.
Who works in Sawtelle, Los Angeles, and how
Work in Sawtelle, Los Angeles centers on professional & technical and health care & social. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 52%
- Work from home 34%
- Transit, walk, or bike 14%
Life in Sawtelle, Los Angeles
Sawtelle, Los Angeles has more restaurants and bars per resident than 83% of neighborhoods and more late-night spots per resident than 72% of neighborhoods. The coast is about 4 minutes away. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Sawtelle, Los Angeles and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Sawtelle, Los Angeles, month by month
Sawtelle, Los Angeles sees roughly 339 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 76 degrees. January highs sit near 68, with lows near 47. Every month averages in that range.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 68° | 57° | 47° |
| April | 69° | 60° | 53° |
| July | 76° | 68° | 63° |
| October | 78° | 67° | 58° |
Flying in and out of Sawtelle, Los Angeles
Los Angeles International sits about 8 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 Sawtelle, Los Angeles
Schools across Sawtelle, Los Angeles average a C+, better than 51% of neighborhoods.
Top high schools
- University High School CharterB+ · 53% proficient
- New West CharterB+ · 53% proficient
- Early College Academy-la Trade Tech CollegeB · 50% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Sawtelle, Los Angeles school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Sawtelle, Los Angeles 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 Sawtelle, Los Angeles against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Who Sawtelle, Los Angeles suits
Retirees
The weather beats 99% of neighborhoods and health care access beats 64%.
Common questions about living in Sawtelle, Los Angeles
Is Sawtelle, Los Angeles a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Sawtelle, Los Angeles ranks 956th of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on the weather, population health, and biking, 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 Sawtelle, Los Angeles expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $1,104,396. The overall cost of living runs about 61% above the national average. Set against a $116,599 median income, cost of living beats 47% of neighborhoods.
Is Sawtelle, Los Angeles safe?
Sawtelle, Los Angeles is safer than 42% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $547 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Sawtelle, Los Angeles?
July highs average about 76 degrees, and January highs near 68 with lows near 47. That works out to about 339 pleasant days a year, more than 99% of neighborhoods.
Is Sawtelle, Los Angeles good for families?
Schools beat 51% of neighborhoods, crime safety beats 42%, and childcare runs $1,130 a month.
Compare Sawtelle, Los Angeles with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Sawtelle, Los Angeles. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Sawtelle, Los Angeles 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.
Sawtelle, Los Angeles detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Sawtelle, Los Angeles: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Sawtelle, Los Angeles: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Sawtelle, Los Angeles: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Sawtelle, Los Angeles: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Sawtelle, Los Angeles 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.