Housing & affordability
18% of the score · 52/100
D+
Median home value$827,200
Los Angeles $871,300
Median rent$2,347/mo
Los Angeles $2,063/mo
Cost-burdened households35%
Los Angeles 46%
Lakewood
Los Angeles County79,850 residents3 school districts
61
C
Suburbgrade score
20th of 60 Los Angeles suburbs. Strongest on amenities, held back by housing & affordability.
61
Los Angeles median 55
0 · F
A+ · 100
Launch-day rule. Residents is not counted for Lakewood yet: no poll responses so far. The overall score of 61 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 Lakewood is like to live in, by category
Bars show Lakewood against Los Angeles. Weights are published in full.Schools
18% of the score · 54/100
C−
Within-state proficiency62nd pct
Los Angeles median 63rd pct
Student–teacher ratio23.0
Los Angeles median 22.9
Graduation rate89%
Los Angeles median 92%
Cost of living
14% of the score · 64/100
C+
Housing cost index98
Los Angeles 100
Eff. tax rate0.70%
Los Angeles 0.66%
Local sales tax10.50%
Los Angeles median 10.00%
Commute & transport
14% of the score · 53/100
C−
Mean commute28.4 min
Los Angeles 29.5 min
Under 30 minutes54%
Los Angeles 54%
Transit stops / sq mi24
Los Angeles median 11 · within 2 miles
Amenities
12% of the score · 91/100
A
Restaurants & cafés207
Los Angeles median 92 · within 2 miles
Groceries14
Los Angeles median 9 · within 2 miles
Parks34
Los Angeles median 47 · within 2 miles
Employment & income
12% of the score · 58/100
C
Median household income$119,177
Los Angeles $95,958
Unemployment5.2%
Los Angeles 6.8%
Professional occupations42%
Los Angeles 43%
Residents
12% of the score · inactive
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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 Lakewood yet. If you live here, you can be the first.
Is it quiet at night?
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Do you feel safe walking after dark?
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Can you walk to a grocery store?
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Is it good for young children?
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Are yards and streets well kept?
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Tap either button to answer — no account neededAll twelve questions →
Better than Lakewood on housing & affordability
Lakewood's weakest grade is D+. Six suburbs are within 25 miles and score higher on the same four inputs.
SuburbHousingOverall
Newport Beach21 mi from LakewoodB− 72 B− Yorba Linda20 mi from LakewoodC+ 60 C Redondo Beach16 mi from LakewoodC 69 B− Fountain Valley14 mi from LakewoodC− 64 C+ Santa Monica24 mi from LakewoodC− 71 B− Irvine23 mi from LakewoodC− 67 C+ Median home value: ACS 2020–24 · Ownership rate: ACS 2020–24
Common questions about living in Lakewood
Is Lakewood, CA a good place to live?
Lakewood scores 61 out of 100, 20th of 60 Los Angeles suburbs. It is strongest on amenities and weakest on housing & affordability. Every weight behind that score is published on the methodology page.
Is Lakewood expensive to live in?
Cost of living grades C+. The median home is $827,200, 5% below the Los Angeles median, and the effective property tax rate is 0.70%. $2,347/mo is the median gross rent.
How good are the schools in Lakewood?
Schools grade C−. The districts serving Lakewood sit at the 62nd pct within-state proficiency percentile, with a 89% graduation rate and a 23.0 student–teacher ratio. Lakewood is served by Long Beach Unified, Bellflower Unified and Abc Unified. Proficiency is only ever compared inside the same state.
How long is the commute from Lakewood?
The mean commute is 28.4 min, with 54% of workers travelling under 30 minutes and 13% working from home. Transit density is 24 stops per square mile.
Can you walk anywhere in Lakewood?
Within two miles there are 14 groceries, 207 restaurants and cafés and 34 parks, which grades A on amenities.
Are the homes in Lakewood old or new?
The median home in Lakewood was built in 1957 — older than 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. 84% 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.