60fit
Westwood
$3K median rent
UCLA at the north edge, a village that still walks, and rentals that outnumber the houses. The westside that still has a bus.
Family streetsWalk 36Safety 100
Los Angeles/Mar Vista
47fit
Mar Vista
Official neighborhood: Mar Vista
Data vintage. ACS 2024 5-year · LAPD Oct 2025 – Aug 2026 · OSM Sep 2026 · updated Sep 2026
Bungalows, a farmers’ market, and the beach ten minutes south. Family westside that is not trying to be Santa Monica.
marvista
Best in Los Angeles for familiesWalkable Los AngelesUnder $2,500 rent
Why this score
Safety
90
56 violent · 423 property · 13.0 per 1k (Oct 2025 – Aug 2026)+40 vs city set
Schools
81
Rating 8.0 / 10 nearby+29 vs city set
Walk
11
OSM: 13 groceries · 13 cafes · 48 transit · 18 parks-15 vs city set
Cost
96
$2,303 ACS median vs your rent budget+4 vs city set
Vibe
12
OSM: 13 cafes · 32 restaurants · 2 bars · 18 parks-13 vs city set
Commute to work
From Mar Vista, a typical weekday is 44 min to Downtown, 18 min to Westside, 27 min to Hollywood. Not live traffic.
Westside is the fastest of these three job centers from here.
Downtown
44 min
DTLA, Arts District · +7 min vs the city-set median
Westside
18 min
Westwood, Century City · -10 min vs the city-set median · fastest of these three
Hollywood
27 min
Studios, the Boulevard · +2 min vs the city-set median
Minutes are baked from neighborhood geography to three job centers — not Google, not this hour’s traffic.
Cost of living
The ACS median rent is $2,303 — every occupied rental mixed together, not the 1-bed in the window.
That is 23% of median household income — under the 30% HUD line. A household at this area’s median income ($119K) could “afford” about $2,969 a month at 30% of pay.
61% of households rent. Median home value is $1,794,442.
ACS median rent
$2,303
30% income budget
$2,969
Rent / income
23%
Median home
$1,794,442
Rent since 2014
ACS 5-year median gross rent for Los Angeles city. Up 62% since 2014. Mar Vista is 19% above the 2024 city median.
Overlapping 5-year ACS windows (B25064), not asking rent. Census does not publish a rent series for each official neighborhood, so the line is the city place. The dashed mark is this area’s ACS 2024 median.
HUD treats 30% of income as the cost-burden line. We do not split ACS rent into 1-bed vs 2-bed. Method.
Within a walk
Within a short walk of this official neighborhood: 13 groceries, 13 cafes, 18 parks, and 48 transit stops.
Daily errands and coffee are realistic on foot. Parks are close — 18 mapped parks in that radius. Transit is dense (48 stops or stations).
13 cafes and 32 restaurants make this one of the busier food pockets in the Los Angeles set.
OpenStreetMap, 800 meters. Not a Walk Score license. More groceries than 10 of the other 21 areas in this city.
Population
36,713
Median age
39.1
Median income
$119K
Renters
61%
Bachelor+
64%
Violent / 1k
1.5
Property / 1k
11.5
ACS 2024 5-year (2020-2024) · 10 census tracts · LAPD Oct 2025 – Aug 2026 · OSM 2026-09-01
Family streets
Crime is LAPD Part I reports per 1,000 ACS residents — not a judgment of who lives here. Home and rent figures are ACS medians, not live MLS. Read the method.
On the ground
What it is like to live here, beyond the scores.
Bungalows, a farmers’ market, and the beach ten minutes south. Family westside that is not trying to be Santa Monica. The grid is actually a grid, which in Los Angeles is a gift. Venice Boulevard is the seam, not the identity.
You will still own a car for the rest of the city. Daily life can happen on foot in a way Brentwood’s will not. Weight family and walk. Palms is cheaper and more renter; Venice is the ocean tax.
Compiled from Zillow neighborhood guides, 5280 Magazine, Chicago and San Francisco resident guides, Mpls With Love, Eastside LA reporting, Seattle Times coverage, Boston planning-neighborhood writing, and local writing, 2025–2026. Editorial — not part of the fit score.
Reported here lately
City 311 service requests in this official unit, last 14 days. This is what neighbors filed with the city — not a chat thread, and not part of the fit score.
661 reports
- Item Pickups262
- Illegal Dumping Item Pickup162
- Service Not Complete65
- Homeless Encampment47
- Dead Animal Removal
- Dead Animal Removal
- Item Pickups
- Illegal Dumping Item Pickup
- Illegal Dumping Item Pickup
MyLA311 2026 cases, last 14 days, mapped to Los Angeles Times neighborhoods. Method.
On Reddit
Public posts from r/LosAngeles that mention this neighborhood. Not Nextdoor, not people on this block, and not part of the fit score.
No r/LosAngeles posts in this snapshot mentioned Mar Vista.
Last 90 days, snapshot 2026-09-01. Method.
Common questions
Straight answers from the numbers on this page.
Is Mar Vista safe?
Mar Vista sits on the quieter side of this Los Angeles map (safety 90 vs city 50). LAPD logged 1.5 violent and 11.5 property incidents per 1,000 residents — 13.0 combined. Visitors count in those numbers. This is not a judgment of who lives here.
What is rent in Mar Vista?
ACS median rent is $2,303 — studios through large apartments mixed together. About 61% of households rent. Median home value is $1,794,442. Survey medians, not a listing you can message tonight.
Is Mar Vista walkable?
Walk is 11 here vs 26 for the Los Angeles set — you will likely drive or ride for a weekly shop. Inside 800 meters: 13 groceries, 13 cafes, 48 transit stops, 18 parks. Not a Walk Score license.
Is Mar Vista good for families?
The scores lean family relative to this city set. Nearby school rating is 8.0 / 10. Median age is 39.1. That rating is not your assigned campus.
How long is the commute from Mar Vista?
44 typical weekday minutes to Downtown. Not the app on your phone this hour. Other job centers are further down this page.
How many people live in Mar Vista?
About 36,713 people. Median income $119K. 64% have a bachelor's or higher.
What neighborhoods are next to Mar Vista?
Palms, Sawtelle, Venice sit closest on this map. If you are choosing between two official neighborhoods, start with Mar Vista vs Palms.
Next door
Adjacent on the map, ranked with your weights.
Mar Vista vs PalmsMar Vista vs SawtelleMar Vista vs Venice
50fit
Brentwood
$3K median rent
San Vicente, school runs, and a median home that assumes you already made it. Quiet westside, on purpose.
Family streetsWalk 17Safety 95
50fit
Palms
$2K median rent
Rentals, the Expo Line, and a westside zip that still has a grocery you can walk to. The practical neighbor of Mar Vista.
Family streetsWalk 22Safety 86
47fit
Sawtelle
$2K median rent
Little Osaka, Sawtelle Boulevard, and the 405 in earshot. Westside food without Brentwood prices.
Walk 32Safety 38
35fit
Venice
$3K median rent
Abbot Kinney, the boardwalk, and canals that still photograph. The ocean is the amenity; the visitors are the tax.
WaterfrontNightlifeWalk 21Safety 14