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Cerritos vs Walnut

17 miles apart. The biggest differences: trails (5.6× in Walnut) and jobs per worker (2.4× in Cerritos).

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Cerritos, CAAn outdoors townCalifornia · 47,867 people
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Walnut, CAKnown for its schoolsCalifornia · 27,611 people
Where each one shines

Two towns, two different strengths

What each town does better than most of its state (not better than each other). Tap one to see the page behind it.

The biggest differences

Where they differ most

The rows below where the towns are furthest apart, beyond the Census margin of error. The full table is further down.

★ What stands out · Report cards

Cerritos places higher on 12 of 23 CA lists

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.

Monthly cost

A typical home costs $630 more a month in Walnut

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.

Cerritos$6,260/mo
Typical home $1.09M (Zillow) · tax rate 0.61% · or rent about $2,930/mo · Housing →
Walnut$6,900/mo
Typical home $1.17M (Zillow) · tax rate 0.78% · or rent about $3,202/mo · Housing →

The difference: $630 a month, about $7,600 a year, between Walnut and Cerritos.

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
CerritosWalnut
Snow a year0″0″
Hazard risk (U.S. pctl)89th87th
Outdoors & history
CerritosWalnut
Trails5 mi28 mi
Conserved land5.2%9.4%
Settled19561959
Archive photos66
Famous people born here176
Community
CerritosWalnut
Library hours a week50 hrs40 hrs
Colleges in town21
Posts this month00
Neighbors joined00

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.

Where they are

17 miles apart

Straight-line miles between town centers.

CerritosWalnutCerritosWalnut
Cerritos ↔ Walnut17 miles apart
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.

CerritosWalnut
People
Population 47,867Highest 27,611Lowest
Growth since 20102010 → 2020 census +1.1%Highest CA: +6.1% -2.5%Lowest CA: +6.1%
Median age 47.7±1.4Highest 26% above CA 46.8±1.7Lowest 23% above CA
Cerritos and Walnut are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Kids under 18 19.1%±1.5Lowest CA: 22% 19.8%±1.9Highest CA: 22%
Walnut and Cerritos are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Age 65+ 26.5%±1.7Highest CA: 15.7% 24%±1.9Lowest CA: 15.7%
Cerritos and Walnut are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+ 58%Highest CA: 37.1% 57.3%Lowest CA: 37.1%
Enrolled in collegeshare of residents 6.9%±1.1Lowest CA: 7.6% 7.1%±1.2Highest CA: 7.6%
Walnut and Cerritos are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Cost of living
Household incomemedian $135,439±$5kHighest 37% above CA $129,449±$14kLowest 31% above CA
Cerritos and Walnut are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Home valuemedian, owner-occupied $935,300±$15kLowest 27% above CA $1,014,000±$38kHighest 38% above CA
Rentmedian gross, monthly $2,930±$161Lowest 44% above CA $3,202±$442Highest 57% above CA
Walnut and Cerritos are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Property taxmedian, yearly $5,711Lowest 11% above CA $7,897Highest 54% above CA
Renters paying 30%+of income on rent 35.8%±5.7Lowest CA: 55.3% 61.5%±6.7Highest CA: 55.3%
Below poverty line 5.3%Lowest CA: 12% 10.1%Highest CA: 12%
Housing
Homeownersof occupied homes 75.9%Lowest CA: 55.9% 83.8%Highest CA: 55.9%
Typical home builtmedian year 1974Lowest 2 yrs older than CA 1982Highest 6 yrs newer than CA
Getting to work
Average commuteone way 32 minLowest 13% above CA 34 minHighest 17% above CA
Work from home 19.4%±2.4Lowest CA: 17.2% 19.7%±2.7Highest CA: 17.2%
Walnut and Cerritos are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Work in townworking residents 8%Highest 7.6%Lowest
Typical commute distancemedian, straight-line 12.8 miLowest 14.8 miHighest
Jobs per working residentover 1.5 = a job hub 1.88Highest 0.79Lowest
Top workplaceoutside town Los Angeles (15%)Los Angeles (14%)
Between these townsresidents who work in the others Few work in WalnutFew work in Cerritos
Outdoors
Conserved landshare of the town 5.2%Lowest 9.4%Highest
Trailsmapped miles 5.0 miLowest 28.1 miHighest
Trail densitymiles per sq mi 0.6 miLowest 3.1 miHighest
Parks & preservesnamed on the map 21Highest 12Lowest
Street connectivityintersections per sq mi, a walkability measure 145Highest 82.1Lowest
Schools
Public school scoresrank in state, math + reading #57 of 574 in CA#31 of 574 in CA
School district ABC UnifiedRowland Unified · Walnut Valley Unified
High school in town Cerritos HighWalnut High
Students per teacherat that high school 23.9Highest 23.2Lowest
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.

Cerritos neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Cerritos’s Town Square.

Walnut neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Walnut’s Town Square.

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Bordering Cerritos

Towns like Cerritos

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.

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