Living in large cities like Los Angeles or San Francisco can be out of many peoples’ price range, but supposedly cheaper alternatives, such as living in a suburb, can be just as expensive.
A new study from Smart Asset revealed which suburbs near California’s major cities, like Los Angeles, San Francisco and Oakland, were the best and worst places to live.
According to its website, the study considered a suburb to be an area with a population of 5,000 to 100,000. The study included about 494 suburbs nationwide.
No suburb from California was ranked in the top 100.
The results were compiled into three categories: jobs, affordability and livability.
Each category was worth 100 points.
Southern California
For L.A. County, Malibu ranked the highest, earning the 446th spot on the nationwide list. The city earned 49.46 for its job score, 7.09 for affordability, and 45.92 for livability.
Hermosa Beach came in second place, earning the 464th spot. The beach town earned 32.03 for its job score, 14.23 for the affordability score and 49.73 for its livability score.
- 467th: Newport Beach
- 476th: West Hollywood
- 480th: Santa Monica
- 485th: Redondo Beach
- 486th: Culver City
- 488th: Manhattan Beach
Northern California
Suburbs near the Bay Area performed better in the study overall.
Tiburon, a wealthy Marin County enclave north of San Francisco, earned the highest spot, ranking 124th on the list, for suburbs up north. This area earned a 93.03 for the jobs score, 7.30 for affordability and 80.32 for its livability score.
Half Moon Bay, a foggy beach town on the Peninsula, ranked 267th. Half Moon Bay earned an 85.61 for the jobs score, 6.30 for affordability and 51.49 for the livability score.
- 272th: Mountain View
- 285th: Palo Alto
- 439th: Napa
- 455th: Sausalito
The entire list can be viewed here.