Housing & affordability
18% of the score · 45/100
D
Median home value$704,400
Los Angeles $871,300
Median rent$1,956/mo
Los Angeles $2,063/mo
Cost-burdened households35%
Los Angeles 46%
Carson
Los Angeles County92,871 residents2 school districts
54
C−
Suburbgrade score
34th of 60 Los Angeles suburbs. Strongest on cost of living, held back by employment & income.
54
Los Angeles median 55
0 · F
A+ · 100
Launch-day rule. Residents is not counted for Carson yet: no poll responses so far. The overall score of 54 is computed on the other six categories, re-normalised to 100%. Answer the poll →
What living here is actually like
Written summary in preparation This page is waiting for its written summary, and for a person to check it. Until then it is excluded from search engines.
What Carson is like to live in, by category
Bars show Carson against Los Angeles. Weights are published in full.Schools
18% of the score · 47/100
D
Within-state proficiency51st pct
Los Angeles median 63rd pct
Student–teacher ratio19.1
Los Angeles median 22.9
Graduation rate79%
Los Angeles median 92%
Cost of living
14% of the score · 81/100
B+
Housing cost index85
Los Angeles 100
Eff. tax rate0.66%
Los Angeles 0.66%
Local sales tax10.50%
Los Angeles median 10.00%
Commute & transport
14% of the score · 50/100
D+
Mean commute27.5 min
Los Angeles 29.5 min
Under 30 minutes60%
Los Angeles 54%
Transit stops / sq mi4.8
Los Angeles median 11 · within 2 miles
Amenities
12% of the score · 67/100
C+
Restaurants & cafés81
Los Angeles median 92 · within 2 miles
Groceries5
Los Angeles median 9 · within 2 miles
Parks18
Los Angeles median 47 · within 2 miles
Employment & income
12% of the score · 39/100
D−
Median household income$108,703
Los Angeles $95,958
Unemployment7.8%
Los Angeles 6.8%
Professional occupations36%
Los Angeles 43%
Residents
12% of the score · inactive
—
No responses yet. Residents is excluded from the score until eight people answer.
Ask the people who live here
Twelve yes/no questions, one tap each. No dataset knows whether the yards are kept or whether anyone talks to their neighbours. Answers feed the Residents grade, which needs eight responses before it counts.
Nobody has answered for Carson yet. If you live here, you can be the first.
Is it quiet at night?
—
Do you feel safe walking after dark?
—
Can you walk to a grocery store?
—
Is it good for young children?
—
Are yards and streets well kept?
—
Tap either button to answer — no account neededAll twelve questions →
Better than Carson on employment & income
Carson's weakest grade is D−. Six suburbs are within 25 miles and score higher on the same four inputs.
SuburbEmploymentOverall
Redondo Beach9 mi from CarsonB− 69 B− Costa Mesa23 mi from CarsonC+ 70 B− Orange23 mi from CarsonC 65 C+ Huntington Beach17 mi from CarsonC 62 C Lakewood7 mi from CarsonC 61 C Santa Monica18 mi from CarsonC 71 B− Median household income: ACS 2020–24 · Unemployment: ACS 2020–24
Common questions about living in Carson
Is Carson, CA a good place to live?
Carson scores 54 out of 100, 34th of 60 Los Angeles suburbs. It is strongest on cost of living and weakest on employment & income. Every weight behind that score is published on the methodology page.
Is Carson expensive to live in?
Cost of living grades B+. The median home is $704,400, 19% below the Los Angeles median, and the effective property tax rate is 0.66%. $1,956/mo is the median gross rent.
How good are the schools in Carson?
Schools grade D. The districts serving Carson sit at the 51st pct within-state proficiency percentile, with a 79% graduation rate and a 19.1 student–teacher ratio. Carson is served by Los Angeles Unified and Compton Unified. Proficiency is only ever compared inside the same state.
How long is the commute from Carson?
The mean commute is 27.5 min, with 60% of workers travelling under 30 minutes and 8.7% working from home. Transit density is 4.8 stops per square mile.
Can you walk anywhere in Carson?
Within two miles there are 5 groceries, 81 restaurants and cafés and 18 parks, which grades C+ on amenities.
Are the homes in Carson old or new?
The median home in Carson was built in 1966 — close to the Los Angeles median of 1969. That is a median, so a town can be half post-war and half new-build and still land there. 79% of homes are houses rather than flats.
Every answer is built from the figures on this page, with their sources and as-of dates on the methodology page.
Six Los Angeles lists
Best Los Angeles suburbs for familiesMost affordable Los Angeles suburbsBest Los Angeles suburbs for schoolsShortest commutes to Downtown Los AngelesMost walkable Los Angeles suburbsBest Los Angeles suburbs for young professionalsCompare Carson
Every Los Angeles suburb, side by side