Housing & affordability
18% of the score · 24/100
F
Median home value$446,600
Los Angeles $871,300
Median rent$1,764/mo
Los Angeles $2,063/mo
Cost-burdened households44%
Los Angeles 46%
Lancaster
Los Angeles County169,169 residents4 school districts
43
D
Suburbgrade score
59th of 60 Los Angeles suburbs. Strongest on amenities, held back by housing & affordability.
43
Los Angeles median 55
0 · F
A+ · 100
Launch-day rule. Residents is not counted for Lancaster yet: no poll responses so far. The overall score of 43 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 Lancaster is like to live in, by category
Bars show Lancaster against Los Angeles. Weights are published in full.Schools
18% of the score · 32/100
F
Within-state proficiency34th pct
Los Angeles median 63rd pct
Student–teacher ratio23.5
Los Angeles median 22.9
Graduation rate82%
Los Angeles median 92%
Cost of living
14% of the score · 65/100
C+
Housing cost index76
Los Angeles 100
Eff. tax rate0.95%
Los Angeles 0.66%
Local sales tax11.25%
Los Angeles median 10.00%
Commute & transport
14% of the score · 47/100
D
Mean commute30.8 min
Los Angeles 29.5 min
Under 30 minutes66%
Los Angeles 54%
Transit stops / sq mi3.7
Los Angeles median 11 · within 2 miles
Amenities
12% of the score · 70/100
B−
Restaurants & cafés81
Los Angeles median 92 · within 2 miles
Groceries9
Los Angeles median 9 · within 2 miles
Parks14
Los Angeles median 47 · within 2 miles
Employment & income
12% of the score · 31/100
F
Median household income$81,511
Los Angeles $95,958
Unemployment7.5%
Los Angeles 6.8%
Professional occupations35%
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 Lancaster 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 Lancaster on housing & affordability
Lancaster's weakest grade is F. One suburb is within 25 miles and scores higher on the same four inputs.
SuburbHousingOverall
Palmdale8 mi from LancasterF 36 F Median home value: ACS 2020–24 · Ownership rate: ACS 2020–24
Common questions about living in Lancaster
Is Lancaster, CA a good place to live?
Lancaster scores 43 out of 100, 59th 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 Lancaster expensive to live in?
Cost of living grades C+. The median home is $446,600, 49% below the Los Angeles median, and the effective property tax rate is 0.95%. $1,764/mo is the median gross rent.
How good are the schools in Lancaster?
Schools grade F. The districts serving Lancaster sit at the 34th pct within-state proficiency percentile, with a 82% graduation rate and a 23.5 student–teacher ratio. Lancaster is served by Antelope Valley Union High, Westside Union Elementary, Lancaster Elementary and Eastside Union Elementary School District. Proficiency is only ever compared inside the same state.
How long is the commute from Lancaster?
The mean commute is 30.8 min, with 66% of workers travelling under 30 minutes and 9.8% working from home. Transit density is 3.7 stops per square mile.
Can you walk anywhere in Lancaster?
Within two miles there are 9 groceries, 81 restaurants and cafés and 14 parks, which grades B− on amenities.
Are the homes in Lancaster old or new?
The median home in Lancaster was built in 1986 — newer 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. 72% 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 Lancaster
Every Los Angeles suburb, side by side