Best PlacesWest Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around West Los Angeles, Los Angeles, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Local pay runs high here, and housing takes the biggest bite out of it. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
West Los Angeles, Los Angeles ranks 670th 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 West 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.
West Los Angeles, Los Angeles' strengths and weaknesses
Where West Los Angeles, Los Angeles ranks high
- Nice weatherabout 339 pleasant days a year, better than 99% of neighborhoods
- Educational attainmentBetter than 94% of neighborhoods
- Big-city accessBetter than 94% of neighborhoods
- Household income$155,894 median, better than 92% of neighborhoods
- Health outlookBetter than 89% of neighborhoods
Where West Los Angeles, Los Angeles ranks low
- Air qualityBetter than only 4% of neighborhoods
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 16% of neighborhoods
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 20% of neighborhoods
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 24% of neighborhoods
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 26% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in West Los Angeles, Los Angeles
A household needs to earn about $421,000 a year to comfortably buy the median West Los Angeles, Los Angeles home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $155,894, 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 West Los Angeles, Los Angeles' effective rate of 0.62%, 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 West Los Angeles, Los Angeles
West Los Angeles, Los Angeles's age mix sits close to the national median, 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 West Los Angeles, Los Angeles.
Who works in West Los Angeles, Los Angeles, and how
Work in West Los Angeles, Los Angeles centers on professional & technical and health care & social. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 61%
- Work from home 31%
- Transit, walk, or bike 9%
Life in West Los Angeles, Los Angeles
West Los Angeles, Los Angeles has more restaurants and bars per resident than 70% of neighborhoods. The coast is about 5 minutes away. That concentrates in some parts of West Los Angeles, Los Angeles and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in West Los Angeles, Los Angeles, month by month
West Los Angeles, 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 West Los Angeles, Los Angeles
Los Angeles International sits about 7 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 West Los Angeles, Los Angeles
Schools across West Los Angeles, Los Angeles average a B, better than 68% of neighborhoods.
Top middle schools
- Beverly Vista MiddleA · 59% proficient
Top high schools
- Beverly Hills HighB+ · 56% proficient
- Early College Academy-la Trade Tech CollegeB · 50% proficient
- Alexander Hamilton Senior HighB · 48% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every West Los Angeles, Los Angeles school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
West 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 West Los Angeles, Los Angeles against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Who West Los Angeles, Los Angeles suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 72% of neighborhoods and 31% already work from home.
Retirees
The weather beats 99% of neighborhoods and health care access beats 85%.
Common questions about living in West Los Angeles, Los Angeles
Is West Los Angeles, Los Angeles a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, West Los Angeles, Los Angeles ranks 670th of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on the weather, an educated workforce, and big-city access, 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 West Los Angeles, Los Angeles expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $1,650,501. The overall cost of living runs about 64% above the national average. Set against a $155,894 median income, cost of living beats 72% of neighborhoods.
Is West Los Angeles, Los Angeles safe?
West Los Angeles, Los Angeles is safer than 36% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $593 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in West Los Angeles, 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 West Los Angeles, Los Angeles good for families?
Schools beat 68% of neighborhoods, crime safety beats 36%, and childcare runs $1,130 a month.
Compare West Los Angeles, Los Angeles with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to West Los Angeles, Los Angeles. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in West 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.
West Los Angeles, Los Angeles detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for West Los Angeles, Los Angeles: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in West Los Angeles, Los Angeles: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of West Los Angeles, Los Angeles: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in West Los Angeles, Los Angeles: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
West 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.