Best PlacesSouth East Torrance, Torrance, CA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around South East 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.
South East Torrance, Torrance ranks 1,064th 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 South East 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.
South East Torrance, Torrance's strengths and weaknesses
Where South East Torrance, Torrance ranks high
- Nice weatherabout 327 pleasant days a year, better than 99% of neighborhoods
- Big-city accessBetter than 94% of neighborhoods
- Household income$133,636 median, better than 86% of neighborhoods
- Health outlookBetter than 82% of neighborhoods
- Cell coverageBetter than 80% of neighborhoods
Where South East Torrance, Torrance ranks low
- Air qualityBetter than only 5% of neighborhoods
- Tree shadeBetter than only 11% of neighborhoods
- Internet speedBetter than only 17% of neighborhoods
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 20% of neighborhoods
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 21% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in South East Torrance, Torrance
A household needs to earn about $273,000 a year to comfortably buy the median South East Torrance, Torrance home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $133,636, 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 South East Torrance, Torrance's effective rate of 0.65%, 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 South East Torrance, Torrance
South East 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 South East Torrance, Torrance.
Who works in South East Torrance, Torrance, and how
Work in South East Torrance, Torrance centers on health care & social and retail trade. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 79%
- Work from home 18%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in South East Torrance, Torrance
The coast is about 6 minutes away. Distance to the water changes a lot across South East Torrance, Torrance, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in South East Torrance, Torrance, month by month
South East Torrance, Torrance sees roughly 327 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 South East Torrance, Torrance
The nearest airport, Jack Northrop Field/Hawthorne Municipal, is about 8 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 South East Torrance, Torrance
Schools across South East Torrance, Torrance average a B, better than 69% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Howard Wood ElementaryD+ · 25% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every South East Torrance, Torrance school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
South East 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 South East Torrance, Torrance against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in South East Torrance, Torrance
Is South East Torrance, Torrance a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, South East Torrance, Torrance ranks 1,064th of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on the weather, big-city access, and high incomes, 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 South East Torrance, Torrance expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $1,064,835. The overall cost of living runs about 46% above the national average. Set against a $133,636 median income, cost of living beats 67% of neighborhoods.
Is South East Torrance, Torrance safe?
Yes, South East Torrance, Torrance is safer than 70% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $346 per resident a year.
Compare South East Torrance, Torrance with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to South East Torrance, Torrance. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in South East 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.
South East Torrance, Torrance detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for South East Torrance, Torrance: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in South East Torrance, Torrance: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of South East Torrance, Torrance: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in South East Torrance, Torrance: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
South East 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.