Los Angeles has a nationwide reputation for being an expensive city. But by doing a little research and looking outside of the main downtown area, it’s easy to find a suburb in your price range that fits your specific needs. Here are the 10 most affordable suburbs in the Los Angeles region.
One of the main cities in the Antelope Valley region, Lancaster is about 60 miles from downtown Los Angeles—the perfect amount of separation from the hustle and bustle of the big city, but not so far that it’s impractical to visit. With more than 160,000 residents, Lancaster has all of the amenities you’d expect in a mid-sized city and offers a host of outdoor attractions like the San Gabriel and Tehachapi mountains, Joshua trees, and several ski resorts within an hour’s drive.
One of the smallest L.A. suburbs on our list, La Puente is much closer to downtown: only 20 miles east of the heart of the city. This urbanized suburb is a great place to commute from, as La Puente’s close proximity to State Route 60 makes the drive very convenient. It’s also home to La Puente Park, a 22-acre green space with picnic shelters, playgrounds, athletic facilities, and more.
Densely populated and close to Los Angeles, Cudahy is one affordable suburb that’s sure to give you a taste of the big city life. It has a relatively young population, with the median age at 27, and it’s home to a significant number of households with four or more people, which makes this affordable suburb ideal for families.
Another great city for commuting downtown, Carson is roughly 20 miles from Los Angeles and only 13 miles from LAX. Due to its close proximity to L.A., there are tons of cool amenities you won’t find elsewhere, including StubHub Center, home of Major League Soccer’s L.A. Galaxy. The city also has its own public transportation system, the Carson Circuit. Paired with ride-sharing and taxi services, it’s rather easy to get around town without a car.
A twin city with Lancaster, Palmdale is another area of L.A. County that offers the ideal proximity to the City of Angels. The economy here is thriving, thanks in part to large aerospace employers Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman. There are also several unique attractions that make Palmdale special, including the Palmdale Amphitheater—an outdoor arena that seats 10,000—and the Rancho Vista Golf Course, a beautiful, lush course designed by Ted Robinson.
Bordered by Long Beach, Compton, and South Gate, the small suburb of Paramount is vibrant and diverse. It has its own public library branch and boasts 10 public parks, many of which have cool features like fishing ponds, jogging trails, and skate ramps. This is one affordable suburb that makes it easy to get outside and enjoy that beautiful California sunshine.
Norwalk makes our list of affordable suburbs thanks to the higher incomes that this area attracts—the second highest on this list. Home of Cerritos College and its 23,000 students, Norwalk is very much a small college town with solid nightlife and family fun. The city has a great transportation infrastructure, with access to three interstates, the Norwalk bus system, and even a Los Angeles Metro route into the big city.
The fifth largest city in Los Angeles County, Pomona is well known for hosting the L.A. County Fair. It’s also home to the Auto Club Raceway and Fox Theater Pomona, a 1930s art deco movie palace. If you’re looking for a great place to get the most bang for your buck, check out Pomona.
Known as “the Hub of the San Gabriel Valley,” Baldwin Park got its start as a ranch town before moving on to more modern industries. Not only was it home to the original In-N-Out burger stand, it’s now home to huge Kaiser Permanente and UPS facilities. In 2016, perhaps paying homage to its agricultural roots, the city launched a certified Farmers Market that offers farm-to-table produce and meat, as well as a children’s zone and seasonal events.
Santa Fe Springs steals the final spot on our list of affordable Los Angeles suburbs thanks to the low rent in the area, as well as the higher incomes the economy here supports. The community in Santa Fe Springs is also very active, hosting a weekly farmer’s market, as well as “First Fridays,” which brings special events to the local residents for free at the public library every month.
To create this list of affordable Los Angeles suburbs, we considered the following criteria:
We then averaged those figures into an overall score, and the places with the 10 lowest scores made up our list of the most affordable Los Angeles suburbs. For this list, we sourced data from AreaVibes, business listings, and the 2013 U.S. Census American Community Survey. Want to see how all 79 Los Angeles suburbs stacked up? Take a look at the table below.
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