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%

Diamond Bar$5,900/mo

Typical home $1.01M (Zillow) · tax rate 0.74% · or rent about $2,521/mo · Housing →

Altadena$6,450/mo

Typical home $1.13M (Zillow) · tax rate 0.57% · or rent about $2,355/mo · Housing →

The difference: $540 a month, about $6,500 a year, between Altadena and Diamond Bar.

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.

Report cards

Altadena places higher on 13 of 19 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.

Safety

C+Diamond BarSafer than 42% of U.S. towns –AltadenaNot graded

Schools

B+Diamond BarBetter than 67% of districts in the state B+AltadenaBetter than 67% of districts in the state

Health

ADiamond BarHealthier than 86% of U.S. towns A−AltadenaHealthier than 84% of U.S. towns

6Diamond Bar

13Altadena

Lists won, of 19 where both are ranked. Ties go to nobody.

Most trailsOutdoors · 677 towns #541#206 Shortest commuteGetting around · 843 towns #683#397 Most conserved landOutdoors · 777 towns #394#220 Lowest obesityHealth · 844 towns #9#196 Most walkableOutdoors · 841 towns #448#317 Most remote workersWork · 801 towns #256#136 Rent easiest to affordCost of living · 422 towns #395#333 Highest incomeIncome · 843 towns #311#196

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

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

Diamond BarAltadena

Snow a year0″0″

Hazard risk (U.S. pctl)85th 92nd

Outdoors & history

Diamond BarAltadena

Trails7 mi 14 mi

Conserved land4.3%11.3%

Settled1989 1887

National Register places—13

Archive photos5 18

Famous people born here13 30

Community

Diamond BarAltadena

Library hours a week56 hrs 48 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.

Where they are

22 miles apart

Straight-line miles between town centers.

Diamond BarAltadena

Diamond Bar ↔ Altadena22 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.

Only big differences vs California average

Diamond BarAltadena

People

Population 53,355Highest 41,705Lowest

Growth since 20102010 → 2020 census -0.8%Lowest CA: +6.1% +0.2%Highest CA: +6.1%

Median age 45.7±0.9Lowest 21% above CA 46.4±1.7Highest 22% above CA

Altadena and Diamond Bar are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Kids under 18 19%±1.5Lowest CA: 22% 19.1%±1.6Highest CA: 22%

Altadena and Diamond Bar are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Age 65+ 21%±1.5Lowest CA: 15.7% 22%±1.6Highest CA: 15.7%

Altadena and Diamond Bar are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+ 52.8%Lowest CA: 37.1% 53.3%Highest CA: 37.1%

Enrolled in collegeshare of residents 9.2%±1Highest CA: 7.6% 5.2%±0.9Lowest CA: 7.6%

Cost of living

Household incomemedian $108,281±$7kLowest 9% above CA $128,720±$12kHighest 30% above CA

Home valuemedian, owner-occupied $902,200±$18kLowest 23% above CA $1,120,000±$30kHighest 52% above CA

Rentmedian gross, monthly $2,521±$121Highest 24% above CA $2,355±$174Lowest 16% above CA

Diamond Bar and Altadena are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Property taxmedian, yearly $6,634Highest 29% above CA $6,437Lowest 26% above CA

Renters paying 30%+of income on rent 65.1%±6.8Highest CA: 55.3% 60.9%±3.8Lowest CA: 55.3%

Diamond Bar and Altadena are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.

Below poverty line 10%Highest CA: 12% 7.9%Lowest CA: 12%

Housing

Homeownersof occupied homes 77.3%Highest CA: 55.9% 76.9%Lowest CA: 55.9%

Typical home builtmedian year 1980Highest 4 yrs newer than CA 1946Lowest 30 yrs older than CA

Getting to work

Average commuteone way 33 minHighest 16% above CA 28 minLowest 4% below CA

Work from home 18.4%±2.2Lowest CA: 17.2% 25.4%±2.7Highest CA: 17.2%

Work in townworking residents 8.1%Highest 4.8%Lowest

Typical commute distancemedian, straight-line 14.8 miHighest 12.3 miLowest

Jobs per working residentover 1.5 = a job hub 0.80Highest 0.33Lowest

Top workplaceoutside town Los Angeles (12%)Los Angeles (28%)

Between these townsresidents who work in the others Few work in AltadenaFew work in Diamond Bar

Outdoors

Conserved landshare of the town 4.3%Lowest 11.3%Highest

Trailsmapped miles 7.0 miLowest 14.4 miHighest

Trail densitymiles per sq mi 0.5 miLowest 1.7 miHighest

Parks & preservesnamed on the map 12Lowest 14Highest

Street connectivityintersections per sq mi, a walkability measure 66.9Lowest 86.7Highest

Schools

Public school scoresrank in state, math + reading #21 of 574 in CA—

School district Pomona Unified · Walnut Valley UnifiedOCS - South District · Pasadena Unified

High school in town Diamond Bar HighNone in town

Students per teacherat that high school 26.0 —

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.

Diamond Bar neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Diamond Bar’s Town Square.

Altadena neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Altadena’s Town Square.

Add a town

Set another town beside Diamond Bar and Altadena

One tap adds it. Up to 4 towns at once.

Bordering Diamond Bar

+ Compare

Industry210 people

+ Compare

Pomona147,943 people · $594K homes

+ Compare

Rowland Heights45,911 people · $851K homes

+ Compare

Chino Hills77,927 people · $875K homes

Towns like Diamond Bar

+ Compare

Cerritos47,867 people · $935K homes

+ Compare

Mission Viejo92,151 people · $1.01M homes

+ Compare

Yorba Linda67,170 people · $1.15M homes

+ Compare

Poway48,713 people · $1.03M 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.

Diamond Bar vs Altadena

Two towns, two different strengths

Where they part ways

A typical home costs $540 more a month in Altadena

Altadena places higher on 13 of 19 CA lists

What daily life feels like in each

22 miles apart

What matters to you?

Ask the people who live there

Set another town beside Diamond Bar and Altadena

Bordering Diamond Bar

Towns like Diamond Bar

Post to Diamond Bar

Check your email