Great for commuters but also home to many major employers
The second most populous city in Los Angeles County, Long Beach is a buzzy coastal community home to over 450,000 people. “Over the last 20 years, I have seen the city evolve into an international waterfront destination with an eclectic array of communities and a vibrant downtown that exudes the laid-back California lifestyle,” says Steve Goodling, president and CEO of Visit Long Beach and Meet Long Beach. About 25 miles south of LA and west of Orange, the city is excellent for commuters but also home to a budding aerospace industry with companies like Boeing and Rocket Lab and Fortune 500 companies like Ford. Known for producing Olympic athletes — 21 athletes and coaches from the city represented the U.S. at the 2024 Paris Olympics — Long Beach is already confirmed to be hosting seven sporting events for the 2028 games in LA, with additional events expected to be added. “Long Beach promises metropolitan amenities and culture but still maintains a strong sense of community in our diverse individual neighborhoods,” says Mayor Rex Richardson. “The city has a top 10 airport, distinguished K-12 and higher education school systems, as well as an array of food, arts, culture and entertainment scenes.”
Boeing has a long association with Long Beach and is a large employer in the city.
Cambodia Town visitors tie ribbons to the wishing tree at the Buddhist temple for the New Year.
Long Beach Airport is close by and offers a superior travel experience to LAX.
The Lion Lighthouse glows in the harbor overlooking Downtown Long Beach.
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City streamlined ADU process and continues to add more affordable housing
Expensive by national standards, the median home price in Long Beach in August 2024 was around $840,000, compared to around $400,000 nationally and $900,000 in broader California. An excellent investment for those who can afford the cost of entry, home prices were up over 6% from the previous year. “You can find some of the most sought-after areas with historic appeal in Belmont Heights, Bluff Heights, Wrigley, California Heights and Bixby Knolls,” Goodling says. “Some of the area’s most valuable real estate is in Belmont Shore and Naples, including multimillion-dollar single-family homes, apartments and condos. In recent years, there has been lots of development downtown, with condos and high-rises built across the city and on the waterfront.” Much like the whole of California, housing is a pivotal issue in Long Beach, where city officials are working to expand housing availability to residents who have been priced out of the real estate market. One solution is streamlining the approval process of Accessory Dwelling Units, or ADUs, of which hundreds have been approved in recent years. “In 2023, the city entitled 2,934 housing units, more than triple the average from the previous three years. Of those units, 645 were at some level of affordability — more than were entitled in the last two years combined," Richardson says.
Midcentury Condo and International Tower are some top spots to live in Downtown Long Beach.
There are many types of homes around California Heights Long Beach.
Post-war bungalows are prevalent in Bixby Knolls.
Ocean views and palm trees are some of things that Bluff Park residents will enjoy.
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Cal State Long Beach is one of the top schools in the system
Long Beach Unified is a highly regarded public school district graded A by Niche, which ranks it among the best districts in the state. LBUSD serves over 62,000 students, providing a high-quality education that prepares students for college, career and life beyond school. "The district has a rich history of innovation, excellence and academic achievement, making it an attractive option for families considering a move to Long Beach," Richardson says. "A cornerstone of Long Beach's commitment to student achievement is the Long Beach Promise, an initiative that provides support and resources to ensure a seamless transition from high school to college."
The city is also home to California State University, Long Beach, and Long Beach City College. CSULB is one of the top schools in the Cal State system and is home to over 41,000 students. 'The Beach,' as folks call it, is known for academic rigor, diversity, athletics, empowering programs and community impact. It's a highly diverse school where over 55% of its bachelor's degrees go to first-generation college graduates. With an enrollment of over 25,000 students spanning two campuses, LBCC promotes high academic achievement and workforce development through educational programs, support services and relationships with local institutes of higher learning and serves the cities of Avalon, Lakewood, Long Beach and Signal Hill.
CSULB's famous Walter Pyramid holds all volleyball and basketball games.
Students attend the highly-ranked California State University Long Beach.
Long Beach Transit runs all along 7th Street and through the CSULB campus.
Long Beach City College offers students many vocational and educational options.
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Michelin-starred restaurant and plenty of Cambodian cuisine
With a fitting title of the "Aquatic Capital of America," it's no surprise that Long Beach is bursting with aquatic attractions for residents and visitors. One of the oldest attractions is moored in Queensway Bay. The RMS Queen Mary, owned by the City of Long Beach for over 40 years, was once one of the most luxurious ocean liners in the world, but today, it's become a center for historic and entertaining tours that focus on the ship's opulent design and contains a museum featuring rotating exhibits. "It’s more than just a historic ship. The iconic Queen Mary continues to capture the hearts of so many people from around the world,” says Mayor Richardson. The Aquarium of the Pacific is one of the most impressive aquariums in the world and is a massive draw in the city.
In terms of retail and restaurants, there are commercial stretches all over Long Beach, including Belmont Shore, the Downtown and shoreline area, Bixby Knolls, Fourth Street and Uptown, among others. Great food can be found in many neighborhoods, but the city is known for Cambodian cuisine. There are more Cambodians in Long Beach than anywhere outside of Cambodia. Legends Sports Bar is considered the country's first modern sports bar, and Domenico's, a welcoming Italian restaurant, is the city's oldest. "Heritage recently became the city's first Michelin-starred restaurant, and there are so many other great restaurants for a special night out, but Long Beach has working-class roots and a lot of people that appreciate straightforward food at a good price," Goodling says. "Local flock to places like Chuck's Coffee Shop, home to the "Weasel" egg and chili dish, and Jongewaard's Bake and Broil in Bixby Knolls serves generous portions of all manner of comfort food — pancakes, omelets — and makes some of the best pie in the city." According to Goodling, there are so many brew pubs in Bixby Knolls that they sometimes call it Brewery Knolls.
Cambodia Town locals flock to Shlap Muan to get their chicken wing fix.
The Eldo is a highly rated gastro pub with a bar and restaurant and al fresco dining.
Bake 'N Broil has been an institution in the neighborhood since 1965.
The iconic Queen Mary has become a symbol of the city.
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Long Beach Grand Prix is the oldest streetcar race in the country
Long Beach is a sought-after destination for large-scale special events and festivals that occur year-round. Events bring in hundreds of thousands of visitors annually. Major annual events include, but are not limited to, the Long Beach Marathon, Long Beach Pride, Cali Vibes, fireworks on the Fourth of July and New Year’s Eve, Coastal Country Jam and the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach. “The Grand Prix brings nearly 200,000 racing fans to Long Beach during the week of the event, and 2025 is its 50th year, making it the oldest streetcar race in the country,” Goodling says. Mayor Richardson says Long Beach continues to grow and thrive as a world-renowned destination for music, arts and culture. “Long Beach has a rich music history from Punk Rock to Hip-Hop, the birthplace of Snoop Dog, Sublime and many more,” said Mayor Rex Richardson. “To meet the demand of the thriving music scene, we are investing in arts, culture, and tourism by developing a signature public amphitheater along the beautiful Downtown Long Beach waterfront.”
The Pike Outlets the day before the Grand Prix is a day to get close to the cars.
The cars are lined up and down the street for you to get close on Thunder Thursday.
Stroll and look at the vehicles on Thunder Thursday.
Thunder Thursday is a photo opportunity and great fun before the Grand Prix of Long Beach.
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El Dorado Regional Park is Long Beach's biggest and hosts many annual events
Providing a robust and vibrant park system is a priority for city officials in Long Beach, which has 166 community parks with 26 community centers, two historic ranchos, two major tennis centers and a busy municipal golf system with five courses. Parks range in size from .05 to 388 acres. There are 18 parks with rentable community centers and 23 parks with rentable sports fields. In addition, there are three swimming pools, 10 dog parks and 12 skate parks citywide. The city's largest, El Dorado Regional Park is on nearly 400 acres and hosts annual events like the Boy Scout Jamboree and the Youth Fishing Rodeo. "The park offers fishing ponds and bicycle rentals. El Dorado Frontier is a small amusement park with a train ride and a carousel," Goodling says. The El Dorado Nature Center has miles of walking trails, a visitor center, and ponds home to adorable turtles," Goodling says. Bixby Park and Recreation Park are other standouts in the city's park system. Long Beach has the country's largest municipally operated and maintained marina system with 3,100 boat slips and over six miles of beach. With miles of paved trails, Alamitos, Junipero and Rosie’s Dog Beach are among the beaches that run along East Ocean Boulevard.
El Dorado Regional Park is the largest park in Long Beach.
Long Beach Municipal Band plays movie favorites and more in El Dorado Park West.
Watch top cyclists compete in the heart-pumping Eldo Racing event at El Dorado Park.
On the bluffs in Bixby Park every day at 11am you can take a yoga session.
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Direct highway access and highly walkable streets downtown
Residents of Long Beach enjoy easy highway access, with Interstates 405 and 710 running through portions of the city. For commuters, downtown Los Angeles is about 25 miles north via the 710, and Irvine is about 30 miles southeast. "Residents have access to most of what's popular in Los Angeles and Orange County. There's traffic to contend with on the freeways at times, but that's just a fact of living in Southern California," Goodling says. "While certain streets can see traffic swell at different times of popularity or events, there are no city streets that are regularly gridlocked," Goodling says. The city is transportation-focused, pedestrian and bicycle-friendly, with an extensive network of bike lanes and protected paths. The Long Beach cityscape is highly walkable, especially in Downtown, Belmont Shore and Bixby Knolls and features scenic bike trails along the beach and local rivers. Long Beach Transit serves local and regional commuters, and the city is connected to greater Los Angeles via the LA Metro. LBT also operates a water taxi, known as the Aqualink, which provides a unique transportation option on the world-class waterfront. Long Beach Airport is the closest, but it's for domestic flights only — Los Angeles International is about 20 miles northwest via the 405. Long Beach Medical Center is the primary medical facility in town.
Higher than average crime and drought risk in the summer
According to FBI data, crime in Long Beach is higher than both national and broader California numbers. Between 2022 and 2023, reported property crimes increased by more than 12%. Violent crimes rose slightly during the same period. The city combats crime by fostering good police-community relations and has multiple specialized teams keyed in on safety. The High Crime Focus Team works toward identifying suspects of violent crimes. The Neighborhood Safety Bike Team provides high-visibility foot and bike patrols in the community’s open spaces, such as parks, beaches and business districts.
The weather in Long Beach is pleasant year-round, with warm summer days between 70 and 80 degrees and temperate winters that range from 67 to 73 degrees. August is the hottest month, and December is the coldest if 73 degrees can be technically classified as cold. Droughts are a concern in the summer, and floods are not uncommon in the winter and spring. The threat from climate change and coastal flooding from sea level rise is real, as the warming ocean is expected to rise 6 to 22 inches by 2050. The city adopted the Long Beach Climate Action Plan in the summer of 2022. The plan provides a framework for a more sustainable and resilient city by reducing greenhouse gas emissions and prepare residents for the impacts of climate change.
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