Best PlacesState College Area, Long Beach, CA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around State College Area, Long Beach, 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.
State College Area, Long Beach ranks 1,222nd of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on few empty homes by a wide margin, and air quality ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in State College Area, Long Beach
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.
State College Area, Long Beach's strengths and weaknesses
Where State College Area, Long Beach ranks high
- Low vacancyBetter than 97% of neighborhoods
- Nice weatherabout 289 pleasant days a year, better than 96% of neighborhoods
- School gradeA, better than 96% of neighborhoods
- Big-city accessBetter than 94% of neighborhoods
- Household income$132,689 median, better than 86% of neighborhoods
Where State College Area, Long Beach ranks low
- Air qualityBetter than only 7% of neighborhoods
- QuietBetter than only 13% of neighborhoods
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 15% of neighborhoods
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 20% of neighborhoods
- Short commute29.7 minutes each way, better than only 20% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in State College Area, Long Beach
A household needs to earn about $240,000 a year to comfortably buy the median State College Area, Long Beach home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $132,689, 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 State College Area, Long Beach's effective rate of 0.67%, 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 State College Area, Long Beach
State College Area, Long Beach's age mix sits close to the national median.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for State College Area, Long Beach.
Who works in State College Area, Long Beach, and how
Work in State College Area, Long Beach centers on education 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 65%
- Work from home 18%
- Transit, walk, or bike 16%
Life in State College Area, Long Beach
The coast is about 4 minutes away. Distance to the water changes a lot across State College Area, Long Beach, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in State College Area, Long Beach, month by month
State College Area, Long Beach sees roughly 289 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 84 degrees. January highs sit near 70, with lows near 47. Every month averages in that range.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 70° | 57° | 47° |
| April | 75° | 63° | 54° |
| July | 84° | 72° | 65° |
| October | 83° | 69° | 60° |
Flying in and out of State College Area, Long Beach
The nearest airport, Long Beach (Daugherty Field), is about 4 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is John Wayne/Orange County, about 16 miles away.
The best schools in and around State College Area, Long Beach
Schools across State College Area, Long Beach average an A, better than 96% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Gant ElementaryA · 63% proficient
- Tincher PreparatoryA · 63% proficient
- Kettering ElementaryA− · 60% proficient
Top middle schools
- Helen Keller MiddleA · 60% proficient
Top high schools
- Eunice Sato Academy Of Math & ScienceA+ · 83% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every State College Area, Long Beach school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
State College Area, Long Beach 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 State College Area, Long Beach against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in State College Area, Long Beach
Is State College Area, Long Beach a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, State College Area, Long Beach ranks 1,222nd of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on few empty homes, the weather, and good schools, and lowest on air quality and noise. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is State College Area, Long Beach expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $935,823. The overall cost of living runs about 55% above the national average. Set against a $132,689 median income, cost of living beats 56% of neighborhoods.
Is State College Area, Long Beach safe?
Yes, State College Area, Long Beach is safer than 65% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $389 per resident a year.
Compare State College Area, Long Beach with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to State College Area, Long Beach. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in State College Area, Long Beach 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.
State College Area, Long Beach detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for State College Area, Long Beach: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in State College Area, Long Beach: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of State College Area, Long Beach: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in State College Area, Long Beach: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
State College Area, Long Beach 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.