Best PlacesSouth Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around South Los Angeles, 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.
South Los Angeles, Los Angeles ranks 4,809th of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. The coast is about 10 minutes away. Its strengths are the weather and big-city access. The cost shows up in air quality, thin health care access, and the cost of living against local pay.
The best neighborhoods in South Los Angeles, 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.
South Los Angeles, Los Angeles' strengths and weaknesses
South Los Angeles, Los Angeles ranks near the bottom because several of the basics fall short at once. The weather is the standout, in the top 2% of neighborhoods. Big-city access and low property taxes follow.
The weak spots are broad rather than narrow: air quality, thin health care access, and the cost of living against local pay all drag on the score. Those are area averages, and the map below shows which parts run well above them.
Where South Los Angeles, Los Angeles ranks high
- Nice weatherabout 311 pleasant days a year, better than 98% of neighborhoods
- Big-city accessBetter than 97% of neighborhoods
- Low property taxBetter than 86% of neighborhoods
- TransitBetter than 83% of neighborhoods
- WalkabilityBetter than 77% of neighborhoods
Where South Los Angeles, Los Angeles ranks low
- Air qualityBetter than only 3% of neighborhoods
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 5% of neighborhoods
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 6% of neighborhoods
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 7% of neighborhoods
- Short commute34.2 minutes each way, better than only 8% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in South Los Angeles, Los Angeles
A household needs to earn about $179,000 a year to comfortably buy the median South Los Angeles, Los Angeles home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $60,992, 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 Los Angeles, Los Angeles' effective rate of 0.58%, 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 Los Angeles, Los Angeles
South Los Angeles, Los Angeles runs younger than the country, and households here run larger than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for South Los Angeles, Los Angeles.
Who works in South Los Angeles, Los Angeles, and how
Work in South Los Angeles, Los Angeles centers on health care & social and education. Unemployment runs well above the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 73%
- Work from home 11%
- Transit, walk, or bike 17%
Life in South Los Angeles, Los Angeles
South Los Angeles, Los Angeles has less late-night activity than most neighborhoods. The coast is about 10 minutes away. That concentrates in some parts of South Los Angeles, Los Angeles and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in South Los Angeles, Los Angeles, month by month
South Los Angeles, Los Angeles sees roughly 311 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 85 degrees. January highs sit near 70, with lows near 48. Every month averages in that range.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 70° | 58° | 48° |
| April | 76° | 64° | 55° |
| July | 85° | 73° | 65° |
| October | 82° | 69° | 60° |
Flying in and out of South Los Angeles, Los Angeles
The nearest airport, Jack Northrop Field/Hawthorne Municipal, is about 5 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 South Los Angeles, Los Angeles
Schools across South Los Angeles, Los Angeles average a C−, better than 37% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Global Education AcademyC · 32% proficient
- Centinela Tk-8 ElementaryD+ · 22% proficient
- Downtown ValueD · 16% proficient
Top middle schools
- Teach Academy Of TechnologiesD− · 15% proficient
- Russell Westbrook Why Not? MiddleF · 8% proficient
Top high schools
- Early College Academy-la Trade Tech CollegeB · 50% proficient
- Ednovate - Usc Hybrid High College PrepB · 50% proficient
- Nava College Preparatory AcademyC− · 30% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every South Los Angeles, Los Angeles school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
South Los Angeles, 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 South Los Angeles, Los Angeles against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Who South Los Angeles, Los Angeles suits
Common questions about living in South Los Angeles, Los Angeles
Is South Los Angeles, Los Angeles a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, South Los Angeles, Los Angeles ranks 4,809th of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on the weather, big-city access, and low property taxes, and lowest on air quality and thin health care access. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is South Los Angeles, Los Angeles expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $703,953. The overall cost of living runs about 35% above the national average. Set against a $60,992 median income, cost of living beats 6% of neighborhoods.
Is South Los Angeles, Los Angeles safe?
South Los Angeles, Los Angeles is safer than 26% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $676 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in South Los Angeles, Los Angeles?
July highs average about 85 degrees, and January highs near 70 with lows near 48. That works out to about 311 pleasant days a year, more than 98% of neighborhoods.
Is South Los Angeles, Los Angeles good for families?
Schools beat 37% of neighborhoods, crime safety beats 26%, and childcare runs $1,130 a month.
Is South Los Angeles, Los Angeles good for remote workers?
Cost of living against local pay beats 6% of neighborhoods, though advertised internet speeds beat only 49% of neighborhoods. About 11% of workers already work from home.
Compare South Los Angeles, Los Angeles with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to South Los Angeles, Los Angeles. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in South Los Angeles, 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.
South Los Angeles, Los Angeles detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for South Los Angeles, Los Angeles: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in South Los Angeles, Los Angeles: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of South Los Angeles, Los Angeles: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in South Los Angeles, Los Angeles: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
South Los Angeles, 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.