Our letter grades for safety, schools and health, then every California ranking list both towns are on. A grade is one measure; read the page behind it.

Safety

CBell GardensSafer than 31% of U.S. towns D−CommerceSafer than 0% of U.S. towns

Schools

CBell GardensBetter than 31% of districts in the state CCommerceBetter than 31% of districts in the state

Health

DBell GardensHealthier than 13% of U.S. towns CCommerceHealthier than 34% of U.S. towns

8Bell Gardens

13Commerce

Lists won, of 22 where both are ranked. Ties go to nobody.

SafestSafety · 411 towns #196#410 Fewest smokersHealth · 844 towns #730#424 Most conserved landOutdoors · 777 towns #388#665 Most walkableOutdoors · 841 towns #223#478 Lowest depressionHealth · 844 towns #288#99 Lowest obesityHealth · 844 towns #666#502 Most remote workersWork · 801 towns #679#539 HealthiestHealth · 844 towns #774#627

Left end = #1 in California. Showing the lists where the towns are furthest apart. All of Bell Gardens’s rankings →

Where they are

Bell Gardens and Commerce share a border

And the people who already live in one and work in the other.

Bell GardensCommerce

Bell Gardens ↔ Commerce2.1 miles apart · They share a border

Who commutes between them

606 Bell Gardens residents work in Commerce (4.4% of its workers)

79 Commerce residents work in Bell Gardens (1.6% of its workers)

Work & commute in Bell Gardens →

Monthly cost

A typical home costs about the same each month

A typical home in each town, bought with 20% down at 6.3% for 30 years, plus property tax at the town’s own rate and insurance. Change the numbers to fit you.

Down paymentRate%

Bell Gardens$3,980/mo

Typical home $685K (Zillow) · tax rate 0.68% · or rent about $1,694/mo · Housing →

Commerce$4,000/mo

Typical home $691K (Zillow) · tax rate 0.65% · or rent about $1,549/mo · Housing →

Within $50 a month of each other.

Estimates, not a quote: your price, rate, tax bill and insurance will differ. Tax rate = the Census median tax bill over the median home value.

Life in each

What daily life feels like in each

The weather, the land, the history and the people, row by row. None of it is a grade: more snow is a plus to a skier.

Seasons

Bell GardensCommerce

Snow a year0″0″

Hazard risk (U.S. pctl)88th 87th

Outdoors & history

Bell GardensCommerce

Trails4 mi 1 mi

Conserved land4.4%0.9%

Settled1961 1960

Archive photos4 21

Famous people born here5 6

Community

Bell GardensCommerce

Library hours a week40 hrs 43 hrs

Posts this month0 0

Neighbors joined0 0

A dot marks the most on each row. Climate: NOAA 1991–2020 normals at the nearest station. Hazard risk: FEMA National Risk Index, expected yearly damage vs U.S. towns.

Everything, side by side

What matters to you?

Pick a few. Those rows jump to the top and the best fit on each is marked. There’s no overall score: what matters is up to you.

Only big differences vs California average

Bell GardensCommerce

People

Population 38,229Highest 11,993Lowest

Growth since 20102010 → 2020 census -6.1%Lowest CA: +6.1% -3.5%Highest CA: +6.1%

Median age 32.3±0.9Lowest 15% below CA 35.6±2.9Highest 6% below CA

Commerce and Bell Gardens are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Kids under 18 27.7%±2.1Highest CA: 22% 22.9%±3.2Lowest CA: 22%

Bell Gardens and Commerce are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Age 65+ 9.6%±1.1Lowest CA: 15.7% 18%±3.2Highest CA: 15.7%

Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+ 7.1%Lowest CA: 37.1% 11%Highest CA: 37.1%

Enrolled in collegeshare of residents 6.8%±1Lowest CA: 7.6% 9.8%±2.9Highest CA: 7.6%

Commerce and Bell Gardens are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Cost of living

Household incomemedian $62,298±$3kLowest 37% below CA $77,064±$8kHighest 22% below CA

Home valuemedian, owner-occupied $563,900±$34kLowest 23% below CA $598,700±$28kHighest 19% below CA

Commerce and Bell Gardens are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Rentmedian gross, monthly $1,694±$43Highest 17% below CA $1,549±$146Lowest 24% below CA

Bell Gardens and Commerce are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Property taxmedian, yearly $3,809Lowest 26% below CA $3,915Highest 24% below CA

Renters paying 30%+of income on rent 56.3%±5.1Highest CA: 55.3% 54.7%±11.6Lowest CA: 55.3%

Bell Gardens and Commerce are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Below poverty line 20%Highest CA: 12% 12.4%Lowest CA: 12%

Housing

Homeownersof occupied homes 21.2%Lowest CA: 55.9% 55%Highest CA: 55.9%

Typical home builtmedian year 1960Highest 16 yrs older than CA 1957Lowest 19 yrs older than CA

Getting to work

Average commuteone way 28 minHighest about the CA average 27 minLowest 5% below CA

Work from home 5.6%±1.4Lowest CA: 17.2% 9.1%±3.5Highest CA: 17.2%

Commerce and Bell Gardens are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Work in townworking residents 4.8%Lowest 11.8%Highest

Typical commute distancemedian, straight-line 8.8 miHighest 8.3 miLowest

Jobs per working residentover 1.5 = a job hub 0.50Lowest 9.08Highest

Top workplaceoutside town Los Angeles (23%)Los Angeles (25%)

Between these townsresidents who work in the others 4% work in Commerce2% work in Bell Gardens

Outdoors

Conserved landshare of the town 4.4%Highest 0.9%Lowest

Trailsmapped miles 4.3 miHighest 0.7 miLowest

Trail densitymiles per sq mi 1.7 miHighest 0.1 miLowest

Parks & preservesnamed on the map 4 4

Street connectivityintersections per sq mi, a walkability measure 103Highest 62.7Lowest

Schools

Public school scoresrank in state, math + reading #399 of 574 in CA #467 of 574 in CA

School district Montebello UnifiedMontebello Unified · Los Angeles County Office of Education

High school in town Bell Gardens HighKirby Dorothy Camp

Students per teacherat that high school 19.3Highest 8.8Lowest

California average“±” Census margin of errorACS 2020–2024

Deciding?

Ask the people who live there

The numbers stop at the town line. Neighbors can tell you about the commute at 7am, the schools, the winters and the feel of the place.

Bell Gardens neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Bell Gardens’s Town Square.

Commerce neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Commerce’s Town Square.

Add a town

Set another town beside Bell Gardens and Commerce

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Bordering Bell Gardens

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Towns like Bell Gardens

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Lawndale30,781 people · $782K homes

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2010 & 2020 censuses, LEHD commute flows; Zillow Home Value Index; NCES Common Core of Data; FBI crime reporting; CDC PLACES; FEMA National Risk Index; NOAA U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020; USGS PAD-US and OpenStreetMap. “±” is the Census margin of error; differences inside it are never called. Property tax is top-coded by the Census at $10,000+. There is no overall score: which town is better depends on what matters to you.

Bell Gardens vs Commerce

Two towns, two different strengths

Where they part ways

Commerce places higher on 13 of 22 CA lists

Bell Gardens and Commerce share a border

A typical home costs about the same each month

What daily life feels like in each

What matters to you?

Ask the people who live there

Set another town beside Bell Gardens and Commerce

Bordering Bell Gardens

Towns like Bell Gardens

Post to Bell Gardens

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