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Los Angeles vs Carson

Next-door neighbors. The biggest differences: trails (233.9× in Los Angeles) and size (41.5× in Los Angeles).

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Los Angeles, CAA colonial town, settled 1781California · 3,857,263 people
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Carson, CAOne of the healthiest townsCalifornia · 92,871 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 part ways

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

★ What stands out · Monthly cost

A typical home costs $860 more a month in Los Angeles

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.

Los Angeles$5,380/mo
Typical home $930K (Zillow) · tax rate 0.66% · or rent about $1,933/mo · Housing →
Carson$4,530/mo
Typical home $786K (Zillow) · tax rate 0.62% · or rent about $1,956/mo · Housing →

The difference: $860 a month, about $10,300 a year, between Los Angeles and Carson.

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.

Where they are

Los Angeles and Carson share a border

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

Los AngelesCarsonLos AngelesCarson
Los Angeles ↔ Carson15 miles apart · They share a border
Who commutes between them
10,211 Carson residents work in Los Angeles (24.9% of its workers)
Work & commute in Carson →
Report cards

Carson places higher on 14 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.

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
Los AngelesCarson
Snow a year0″0″
January low48°F—
July high78°F—
Growing season (days)365d—
Hazard risk (U.S. pctl)94th87th
Outdoors & history
Los AngelesCarson
Conserved land14.1%2.6%
Settled17811968
National Register places285—
Archive photos1811
Famous people born here1541
Community
Los AngelesCarson
Library hours a week57 hrs40 hrs
Colleges in town411
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.

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.

Los AngelesCarson
People
Population 3,857,263Highest 92,871Lowest
Growth since 20102010 → 2020 census +2.8%Lowest CA: +6.1% +4.2%Highest CA: +6.1%
Median age 37.2±0.2Lowest about the CA average 41.7±1Highest 10% above CA
Kids under 18 19.2%±0.2Lowest CA: 22% 20.1%±1.3Highest CA: 22%
Carson and Los Angeles are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Age 65+ 14.2%±0.1Lowest CA: 15.7% 18.5%±1.1Highest CA: 15.7%
Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+ 38.5%Highest CA: 37.1% 29.3%Lowest CA: 37.1%
Enrolled in collegeshare of residents 8.1%±0.1Highest CA: 7.6% 6.4%±0.8Lowest CA: 7.6%
Cost of living
Household incomemedian $81,939±$742Lowest 17% below CA $108,703±$4kHighest 10% above CA
Home valuemedian, owner-occupied $921,200±$5kHighest 25% above CA $704,400±$14kLowest 4% below CA
Rentmedian gross, monthly $1,933±$9Lowest 5% below CA $1,956±$109Highest 4% below CA
Carson and Los Angeles are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Property taxmedian, yearly $6,050Highest 18% above CA $4,361Lowest 15% below CA
Renters paying 30%+of income on rent 59.3%±0.6Highest CA: 55.3% 52.9%±5.1Lowest CA: 55.3%
Below poverty line 16.5%Highest CA: 12% 8.7%Lowest CA: 12%
Housing
Homeownersof occupied homes 36%Lowest CA: 55.9% 74%Highest CA: 55.9%
Typical home builtmedian year 1965Lowest 11 yrs older than CA 1966Highest 10 yrs older than CA
Getting to work
Average commuteone way 31 minHighest 7% above CA 28 minLowest 4% below CA
Work from home 19.5%±0.2Highest CA: 17.2% 8.7%±0.9Lowest CA: 17.2%
Work in townworking residents 51%Highest 6.9%Lowest
Typical commute distancemedian, straight-line 8.8 miLowest 11.3 miHighest
Jobs per working residentover 1.5 = a job hub 1.14Lowest 1.29Highest
Top workplaceoutside town Burbank (6%)Los Angeles (25%)
Between these townsresidents who work in the others Few work in Carson25% work in Los Angeles
Outdoors
Conserved landshare of the town 14.1%Highest 2.6%Lowest
Trailsmapped miles 701.7 miHighest 3.0 miLowest
Trail densitymiles per sq mi 1.4 miHighest 0.2 miLowest
Parks & preservesnamed on the map 373Highest 15Lowest
Street connectivityintersections per sq mi, a walkability measure 85.4Lowest 88.0Highest
Schools
Public school scoresrank in state, math + reading #215 of 574 in CA#124 of 574 in CA
School district Los Angeles Unified ROCP · Girls Athletic Leadership School Los Angeles DistrictMagnolia Science Academy 3 District · Compton Unified
High school in town Grover Cleveland Charter HighCarson Senior High
Students per teacherat that high school 22.6Highest 18.5Lowest
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.

Los Angeles neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Los Angeles’s Town Square.

Carson neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Carson’s Town Square.

Add a town

Set another town beside Los Angeles and Carson

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Bordering Los Angeles

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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