Best Cities for Young Families in Southern California

The Los Angeles area might be the hot spot in Southern California, but Orange County, its neighbor, tends to be the most family friendly.

When NerdWallet crunched the numbers to find the best places for young families in Southern California, four of the top five cities on our list were in Orange County.

The common standout is quality schools, but Orange County also has a strong labor force and has invested in infrastructure improvements, such as the $64 million project to expand Irvine’s Sand Canyon Avenue where it intersects with Interstate 5.

» MORE: Best mortgage lenders in California

Best cities for young families in Southern California

1. Irvine

The beautiful city of Irvine attracts families with its strong education — from public elementary schools to the renowned University of California, Irvine. In addition to the honor of a top score of 10 by GreatSchools, Irvine schools have strong backing from the community, thanks to initiatives such as the city’s Challenge Match Grant program that matches the exact amount raised by the nonprofit Irvine Public Schools Foundation. The city’s high home values come with the territory, and access to the ocean and numerous parks help create a balance between nature and a thriving business community.

2. Rancho Santa Margarita

A hop and a skip from Irvine and the ocean, this small master-planned city prides itself on its village vibe even as it embraces growth, which has been strong—long-term income showed a 31.22% increase from 1999 to 2012. With schools in two districts, Rancho Santa Margarita’s quality education is backed by students’ state test scores, which are especially high in science. Local businesses play a key role in the city’s growth, and the chamber of commerce, with its rebranding in 2012, is determined to attract small business.

3. Seal Beach

As the third city in Orange County on our list, Seal Beach is also home to exceptional educational choices. The surrounding Los Alamitos School District boasts California Distinguished Schools, including Seal Beach’s J. H. McGaugh Elementary School. This quiet community of beach homes is known for its naval weapons station and, among other features, the second-longest pier in the state.

4. Beaumont

With its mountain trails in San Gorgonio Pass and a name that means “beautiful mountain” in French, Riverside County's Beaumont is also home to another peak: Residents’ income growth soared 128% in the past decade, making it one of the fastest-growing cities in California. Plus, with a median value of $226,000, the city’s housing isn't too steep for potential homeowners, and the city’s 16 public parks help round out the community.

5. Cypress

Despite being only 6.6 square miles, Cypress stands in a strategic location for growth, and its proximity to four freeways and commercial centers is part of it. Education in the Cypress School District, which includes six elementary schools, is characterized by academic rigor and strong marks on standardized California tests. For business owners who want to get through the official paperwork and get a business up and running quickly, the city’s small size is an advantage.

6. Walnut

This suburb in eastern Los Angeles County balances access to a large metropolitan area with small-town charm. Like Cypress, despite its size, this city offers big opportunities for residents. The area’s long-term income growth since 1999 is a solid 26% with a median annual income level just above $102,000. Community comes into play at 11 parks and events such as the Walnut Family Festival in October.

7. Agoura Hills

Perched to the northwest of Los Angeles, Agoura Hills is close to commercial centers, but it still is home to several parks, including the Santa Monica Mountains Recreation Area. Education has strong roots here, too. As reflected in its high GreatSchools ratings, the Agoura Hills schools in Las Virgenes Unified School District provide well-rounded curricula — from elementary school arts and technology programs to Agoura High School’s ComedySportz High School League for young improvisers. A community mainstay for the past decade has been the Reyes Adobe Days fall festival, which highlights California and ranch culture.

8. Loma Linda

Health is a focal point in Loma Linda — even its economy depends on it. Top employers in San Bernardino County include the esteemed Loma Linda University Medical Center and other hospitals as well. Public schools in the area have good ratings, especially Bryn Mawr Elementary School, a recent nominee for the National Blue Ribbon School honor.

9. Yorba Linda

The city — just below the Chino Hills State Park in northeastern Orange County — offers space for those with a passion for horses. Several equestrian centers are in town, as well as trails for riding, hiking and biking. Schools, which are part of the Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified School District, earned a strong 9 ranking at GreatSchools. In the past few years, the district has invested $600 million to modernize facilities, improve technology and build new schools.

10. Murrieta

Affordable homes and good schools make up a big part of the patchwork that is Murrieta, a city between Los Angeles and San Diego. The median home value in 2012 comes to $286,600, which is far below the state’s median. When it comes to education, Murrieta Valley Unified School District provides academic rigor that helps students achieve above-average state test scores. The city is also close to Camp Pendleton, the largest training facility for Marines on the West Coast.

Check out this interactive map of our top 10 cities for young families in Southern California. Click on each icon to see the place’s overall score.

Best cities for young families in Southern California

Scroll right to see all data categories.

	City	GreatSchools rating	Median home value in 2012	Homeownership costs	Median household income in 2012	Income growth for 1999-2012	Overall score
1	Irvine	10	646,500	2,995	92,663	28.60%	64.04
2	Rancho Santa Margarita	9	530,800	2,883	102,975	31.22%	63.62
3	Seal Beach	10	286,400	2,842	50,675	20.43%	63.22
4	Beaumont	6	226,000	2,210	67,758	127.98%	62.74
5	Cypress	9	512,100	2,349	80,440	24.95%	62.66
6	Walnut	9	626,700	2,715	102,093	26.02%	62.26
7	Agoura Hills	9	689,700	2,936	110,716	27.25%	61.46
8	Loma Linda	8	291,500	2,316	58,040	51.92%	60.92
9	Yorba Linda	9	696,500	3,320	116,881	30.46%	60.47
10	Murrieta	8	286,600	2,405	75,485	23.93%	60.20
11	Twentynine Palms	7	156,600	1,263	42,572	36.54%	60.07
12	Lake Forest	8	505,600	2,574	93,127	37.02%	59.88
13	Santee	8	330,500	2,262	69,238	29.12%	59.85
14	Temple City	9	567,300	2,380	64,148	31.66%	59.64
15	Santa Clarita	8	390,100	2,535	84,291	26.34%	59.41
16	Diamond Bar	8	531,400	2,520	90,181	30.94%	58.60
17	Chino Hills	8	491,800	2,694	97,065	23.85%	58.58
18	Poway	8	519,500	2,692	94,224	31.40%	58.51
19	Carlsbad	9	617,200	2,948	83,875	28.75%	58.39
20	Redondo Beach	9	720,500	3,351	98,816	42.85%	58.33
21	San Dimas	8	429,200	2,374	76,454	21.58%	57.88
22	Brea	8	544,200	2,537	82,055	37.31%	57.67
23	Mission Viejo	8	558,000	2,687	96,088	22.80%	57.23
24	El Segundo	9	765,500	3,064	86,364	40.79%	56.98
25	La Palma	8	575,100	2,547	87,289	27.54%	56.85
26	La Verne	8	463,200	2,539	76,519	24.77%	56.71
27	Glendora	8	465,200	2,487	74,619	24.34%	56.62
28	Thousand Oaks	8	611,900	2,922	100,156	30.39%	56.47
29	Redlands	7	308,200	2,207	66,901	38.93%	56.26
30	Palm Desert	8	325,900	2,102	53,456	10.64%	56.21
31	Culver City	8	607,300	2,647	76,182	47.09%	56.11
32	Temecula	7	311,200	2,435	78,668	32.18%	56.05
33	Alhambra	8	484,900	2,215	53,917	37.50%	55.97
34	Cerritos	8	602,100	2,517	87,788	20.21%	55.84
35	Corona	7	341,600	2,418	78,982	32.49%	55.73
36	South Pasadena	9	838,300	3,207	84,185	51.06%	55.72
37	Lakewood	7	430,100	2,314	78,876	35.49%	55.16
38	La Mirada	7	422,000	2,338	81,319	31.94%	55.16
39	Arcadia	9	776,200	3,042	77,342	37.86%	55.12
40	Fullerton	8	493,200	2,663	67,617	34.51%	55.12
41	Laguna Hills	8	568,500	2,708	85,594	21.87%	55.12
42	Hanford	6	197,600	1,691	54,767	45.73%	54.91
43	Placentia	8	515,400	2,598	75,693	20.52%	54.88
44	Encinitas	8	703,800	2,915	90,868	42.08%	54.76
45	Yucca Valley	6	163,100	1,436	42,962	41.23%	54.54
46	La Quinta	7	366,800	2,382	72,099	32.17%	54.35
47	Moorpark	7	543,300	2,761	102,411	33.62%	54.29
48	Rancho Palos Verdes	9	973,900	3,580	119,778	25.42%	54.21
49	Rancho Cucamonga	7	374,100	2,439	77,329	26.91%	54.16
50	Torrance	8	622,100	2,717	76,082	34.68%	54.04
51	Claremont	8	559,400	2,814	80,754	22.52%	53.94
52	Fountain Valley	8	607,600	2,582	81,212	16.46%	53.87
53	West Covina	7	389,100	2,261	68,677	29.57%	53.83
54	Yucaipa	6	240,500	2,000	59,428	51.82%	53.83
55	Laguna Niguel	8	679,500	3,085	100,589	24.59%	53.81
56	San Marcos	8	375,800	2,577	54,792	19.35%	53.81
57	Chula Vista	7	366,200	2,575	65,364	45.70%	53.66
58	Hacienda Heights	7	465,200	2,286	76,118	27.96%	53.44
59	Santa Fe Springs	7	354,200	1,927	54,551	22.48%	53.26
60	Visalia	6	190,500	1,663	53,718	29.91%	53.25
61	Lake Elsinore	6	216,200	2,215	62,436	49.07%	53.17
62	Camarillo	7	473,300	2,650	83,892	34.32%	53.17
63	Huntington Beach	8	638,100	2,828	81,849	26.26%	53.13
64	Lemoore	6	208,400	1,921	56,258	39.55%	52.94
65	West Hollywood	9	626,300	3,169	53,223	36.77%	52.84
66	La Mesa	7	378,500	2,178	55,744	33.70%	52.84
67	Upland	7	419,200	2,325	64,797	32.96%	52.70
68	Ramona	7	372,900	2,333	62,738	29.02%	52.65
69	San Diego	7	451,800	2,458	63,990	39.92%	52.03
70	San Buenaventura (Ventura)	7	445,900	2,334	66,586	27.32%	51.86
71	Artesia	7	440,500	2,250	59,078	32.76%	51.82
72	Wasco	5	137,700	1,193	42,221	45.60%	51.75
73	Highland	6	265,200	2,065	57,313	39.01%	51.26
74	El Centro	6	161,900	1,669	41,418	24.90%	51.12
75	San Clemente	8	735,600	3,294	87,184	37.28%	50.88
76	Dana Point	8	732,900	2,956	80,938	28.39%	50.88
77	Monterey Park	7	478,200	2,324	55,800	37.02%	50.70
78	Barstow	5	111,000	1,232	44,623	27.24%	50.31
79	Glendale	8	597,000	2,764	54,369	30.05%	50.13
80	South El Monte	6	343,000	1,803	48,056	38.67%	49.92
81	Rosemead	7	444,900	2,179	46,781	29.30%	49.77
82	Burbank	7	570,500	2,678	67,693	42.61%	49.66
83	Tustin	7	509,700	2,839	74,011	32.20%	49.61
84	Tulare	5	168,800	1,442	45,995	36.74%	49.40
85	Covina	6	386,000	2,319	66,818	37.84%	49.17
86	Norco	6	401,000	2,584	82,074	31.00%	49.10
87	San Luis Obispo	7	542,900	2,347	46,651	46.12%	49.00
88	San Gabriel	7	552,900	2,371	56,260	34.62%	48.98
89	Rowland Heights	7	486,600	2,402	61,315	17.30%	48.80
90	Bakersfield	5	191,600	1,718	54,265	35.72%	48.65
91	Simi Valley	6	448,500	2,588	87,894	24.90%	48.55
92	Lakeside	6	327,400	2,246	61,222	25.17%	48.25
93	Palm Springs	6	285,700	1,959	45,404	26.22%	48.15
94	Oceanside	6	356,500	2,312	61,181	32.14%	48.15
95	Duarte	6	375,200	2,172	63,160	24.47%	48.11
96	Delano	5	144,900	1,244	35,507	26.17%	48.06
97	Westminster	7	462,100	2,307	54,780	10.78%	47.96
98	Indio	5	211,900	1,903	50,528	45.93%	47.76
99	Brawley	5	153,400	1,468	40,075	28.13%	47.58
100	Whittier	6	435,800	2,452	67,417	36.87%	47.55
101	Fontana	5	258,100	2,136	64,195	40.22%	47.22
102	La Habra	6	392,600	2,289	60,954	27.91%	47.16
103	Buena Park	6	405,300	2,345	64,205	27.55%	47.12
104	Garden Grove	6	412,000	2,181	59,988	25.62%	47.05
105	Hemet	5	125,400	1,419	33,460	24.67%	46.86
106	San Juan Capistrano	7	560,400	2,987	75,356	20.78%	46.84
107	El Cajon	6	333,400	2,119	45,750	28.63%	46.75
108	Monrovia	6	540,300	2,670	69,449	53.06%	46.67
109	Riverside	5	251,700	1,958	56,403	35.43%	46.56
110	Valinda	5	335,100	1,997	66,727	34.59%	46.52
111	Downey	6	430,300	2,360	60,132	31.67%	46.40
112	Hesperia	5	158,800	1,560	46,027	14.49%	46.40
113	Apple Valley	5	191,500	1,658	48,491	19.96%	46.29
114	Long Beach	6	441,600	2,379	52,900	41.94%	46.07
115	Orange	6	524,700	2,698	78,678	33.37%	46.07
116	Fallbrook	6	389,500	2,422	56,792	29.73%	45.97
117	Ontario	5	262,800	1,876	54,994	29.54%	45.96
118	San Jacinto	4	147,800	1,640	47,453	54.94%	45.88
119	Pico Rivera	5	344,900	1,922	57,044	37.24%	45.51
120	Victorville	4	148,800	1,641	52,165	44.15%	45.42
121	Norwalk	5	326,200	1,992	60,485	31.35%	45.32
122	Montclair	5	266,700	1,761	50,266	23.21%	45.08
123	Shafter	4	141,100	1,285	40,731	38.00%	45.06
124	La Puente	5	298,200	1,886	52,886	28.30%	44.82
125	Baldwin Park	5	291,900	1,783	51,244	23.10%	44.68
126	Stanton	5	282,700	1,910	50,542	29.17%	44.66
127	Porterville	4	156,100	1,328	42,628	33.02%	44.31
128	Chino	5	344,300	2,394	71,671	29.37%	44.28
129	Cathedral City	5	194,000	1,832	44,763	15.11%	44.08
130	Arvin	4	99,800	1,151	30,719	29.76%	43.98
131	Rancho Mirage	6	544,100	2,932	77,304	29.21%	43.69
132	Bloomington	4	175,400	1,592	46,639	36.75%	43.52
133	Paramount	5	269,700	1,803	44,167	20.19%	43.45
134	Lemon Grove	5	300,000	2,031	49,986	25.52%	43.16
135	National City	5	281,700	1,868	38,798	30.08%	43.10
136	Santa Ana	5	343,200	2,041	54,387	25.28%	43.07
137	Santa Paula	5	323,200	2,191	54,168	30.05%	43.03
138	Lomita	5	481,700	2,286	62,899	45.25%	42.94
139	Santa Monica	8	992,100	3,646	72,271	42.51%	42.67
140	Lennox	5	319,700	1,782	36,660	29.66%	42.57
141	Perris	4	162,100	1,693	46,435	30.72%	42.45
142	Bellflower	5	355,000	2,120	50,765	28.97%	42.23
143	Coalinga	4	174,200	1,557	46,712	22.50%	42.16
144	Costa Mesa	6	592,400	2,715	65,373	28.86%	42.15
145	Banning	4	176,500	1,353	38,919	21.33%	41.91
146	Imperial Beach	5	358,600	2,112	46,975	30.92%	41.82
147	Maywood	5	274,200	1,856	36,540	19.88%	41.79
148	Montebello	5	404,500	2,082	50,581	30.35%	41.75
149	Lawndale	5	374,900	2,014	48,727	24.90%	41.73
150	San Fernando	4	292,000	1,850	54,856	37.45%	41.48
151	Moreno Valley	4	194,700	1,817	55,872	17.91%	41.29
152	San Bernardino	4	166,100	1,582	39,097	25.55%	41.25
153	Carson	4	357,200	2,214	71,653	37.05%	40.97
154	Rialto	4	194,700	1,745	49,428	19.81%	40.87
155	Anaheim	5	415,900	2,416	59,627	26.54%	40.66
156	Escondido	5	335,200	2,195	49,787	16.96%	40.63
157	Hawthorne	5	412,800	2,300	44,906	40.83%	40.59
158	Cudahy	4	203,300	1,843	39,263	35.20%	40.22
159	Lamont	3	105,700	1,140	34,256	33.93%	39.99
160	Vista	5	349,200	2,211	48,676	14.28%	39.82
161	Azusa	4	323,400	1,976	53,063	35.40%	39.70
162	Blythe	3	152,700	1,537	48,327	36.81%	39.51
163	Bell Gardens	4	284,500	1,626	38,272	25.08%	38.82
164	Pasadena	5	620,600	2,823	68,310	48.46%	38.73
165	Oxnard	4	344,700	2,252	60,736	24.96%	37.82
166	Gardena	4	354,600	2,032	50,148	28.62%	37.61
167	El Monte	4	352,800	1,880	41,861	29.05%	37.22
168	Calexico	3	161,500	1,475	37,431	29.39%	37.11
169	Lynwood	4	294,500	1,906	42,723	19.05%	37.07
170	Bell	4	290,600	1,828	36,654	22.40%	36.98
171	Corcoran	3	127,500	1,219	34,594	12.38%	36.80
172	South Gate	4	304,400	1,884	41,851	17.25%	36.69
173	Desert Hot Springs	3	139,700	1,475	32,883	26.54%	36.41
174	Huntington Park	4	307,700	1,955	36,620	26.53%	36.41
175	Inglewood	4	342,700	2,147	44,558	30.02%	36.39
176	Altadena	4	588,200	2,665	82,854	36.84%	36.26
177	Santa Barbara	6	880,500	2,967	63,758	34.23%	36.18
178	Colton	3	168,700	1,615	41,496	15.99%	35.34
179	Coachella	2	150,900	1,444	41,611	45.54%	34.96
180	Compton	3	253,800	1,800	42,335	33.05%	34.88
181	Adelanto	2	104,400	1,428	41,113	30.13%	34.03
182	Pomona	3	272,600	1,896	48,864	22.10%	33.84
183	Los Angeles	4	470,000	2,633	49,745	35.59%	32.89
184	Walnut Park	3	291,300	1,816	42,558	18.75%	32.59
185	Avenal	2	156,600	1,068	27,927	-6.00%	29.05
186	Port Hueneme	2	313,900	2,036	51,723	22.43%	27.84

Methodology

The score for each place is from the following data:

Public schools made up 40% of the score. We used data from GreatSchools, which the nonprofit calculates by averaging the overall rating for each school in the city.

Median home values, monthly homeowner costs, median annual household incomes and income changes from 1999 to 2012 were each 15% of the score. All of that information is from the U.S. Census Bureau.

NerdWallet crunched the data for 186 places — cities, towns and census-designated places — in Southern California, from San Luis Obispo on the Central Coast to the U.S.-Mexico border. Only places with over 15,000 residents were analyzed. We excluded areas that lacked GreatSchools ratings, median annual household incomes from 1999 or median home values from 2012.

Image via iStock.