Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 37,367, settled in 1961.
Bell Gardens earns a D−, 726th of 841 graded towns in California, mostly because of health. CDC estimates put its residents' health behind 88% of the country. One bright spot: it is easier to get around on foot or by transit than 96% of U.S. towns. Bell Gardens’ density of trails is 1.7 miles per square mile, where California’s towns sit at 1.0 and U.S. towns at 0.4. No town in California scores lower than Bell Gardens on civic life. Homes are expensive, about $692K for a typical one and 7.2 times the Los Angeles metro’s $96K median household income.
Where Bell Gardens beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Where Bell Gardens’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within California), ordered by how far Bell Gardens is from typical.
Its grades run from A+ for walkability (better than 96% of comparable towns) to D for hazard risk (better than 8%), so the D− overall blends very different results.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 26,467 in 1960, 39,501 in 2020. The archive holds 4 old photos and papers going back to 2002 and 8 maps from 1896 on.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Bell Gardens. Close and well known come first.
Big draw11 mi Stadium & arenaSoFi Stadium
Big draw14 mi LandmarkHollywood Walk of Fame10.0M visitors a year
Big draw9 mi MuseumLucas Museum of Narrative Art
Big draw17 mi Theme parkDisneyland17.3M visitors a year
Big draw8 mi Stadium & arenaLos Angeles Memorial Coliseum
Big draw8 mi Stadium & arenaCrypto.com ArenaSoFi Stadium: Thank You (21 Millions+) views, CC BY 2.0 · Hollywood Walk of Fame: BenSherman, Public domain · Lucas Museum of Narrative Art: Kriddl, CC0 · Disneyland: HarshLight from San Jose, CA, USA, CC BY 2.0 · Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum: CanonStarGal, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Crypto.com Arena: Troutfarm27, CC BY-SA 4.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Bell Gardens, and how to reach them.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
Ordered by what stands out in Bell Gardens.
Bell Gardens reports less crime than Bell or any other graded neighbor, has milder winter nights than nearly all U.S. towns and is mostly renters.
John Anson Ford Park, at 49 acres with 2.8 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve. Trails run 4.3 miles in 4 parks and preserves.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. John Anson Ford Park | 2.8 mi | 49 |
| 2. Bell Gardens Veterans Park | 1.2 mi | 17 |
| 3. Marlow Park | 0.1 mi | 1 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Public schools: the Montebello Unified school district. Two of its 9 schools are below, each with the reason it’s listed. The 5 public schools in Bell Gardens teach 3,133 students between them.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bell Gardens IntermediateLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 790 | C+ |
| Bell Gardens HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 2,046 | B− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within CA on state tests and graduation
Bell Gardens: 16% of adults smoke cigarettes, above both California’s towns (11%) and U.S. towns (14%). A fifth of Bell Gardens adults report frequent mental distress. Against the California average, Bell Gardens comes out ahead on 2 CDC measures out of 32, and behind on 24. In Bell Gardens, 20% of adults report frequent physical distress, and 41% get no exercise outside work.
| Bell Gardens | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 40% | 22% | 19% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 14% | 14% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 41% | 24% | 25% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 45% | 36% | 33% |
| What stands out | Bell Gardens | CA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 3.6% | 6.4% |
| Fewer adults with arthritis | 18.3% | 20.8% |
| More uninsured adults | 28.5% | 10.6% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Federal aid has come to Bell Gardens households in 5 declared disasters; the latest was in 2025. FEMA expects more storm and flood damage in the town than in 88% of U.S. communities.
FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
The share of workers in Bell Gardens who do their job from home: 5.6%. Just 5% of the town’s working residents have a job in town. The income of the median household for Bell Gardens comes to $62,000. Since 2013, Bell Gardens has lost 1,269 jobs, to 6,912 in 2023.
| Bell Gardens | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 20% | 10% | 9.6% |
| Work from home | 5.6% | 14% | 11% |
| Median household income | $62,000 | $95,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 4.8% | 6.6% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Crime runs higher than in most U.S. towns, but its C tops all 3 graded towns on its borders; Bell (C−) comes closest. Reported crimes fell from 719 to 517 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
Bell Gardens’ violent crime rate stands at 3 per 1,000 residents. Within California, it does better than 54% of towns.
| Bell Gardens | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 3 per 1,000 residents | 2.9 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 10.9 per 1,000 residents | 13.4 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
January nights average 46.8°, milder than in 97% of U.S. towns; July afternoons average 85.3°.
Bell Gardens’ January low comes in at 47°F. Snow is almost unheard of.
| Bell Gardens | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| January low | 47°F | 40°F | 22°F |
| July high | 85°F | 89°F | 85°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
In Bell Gardens, the median rent is $1,694 a month. The typical Bell Gardens home is worth about $692,000, up 1.2% in a year, 9% below the California typical home. 56% of renter households spend 30% or more of their income on rent in the town.
| Bell Gardens | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 21% | 64% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,694 a month | $1,898 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Renters paying 30%+ of income on rent | 56% | 55% | 48% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
72 within 15 miles of the center of Bell Gardens
About 7 of every 100 Bell Gardens residents are enrolled in college, about the same as California.
4 notable people were born in Bell Gardens.
City in California, United States
Bell Gardens is a city in the U.S. state of California in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. Located in Los Angeles County, the city's population was 39,501 at the 2020 census. Bell Gardens is part of the Gateway Cities Region, a largely urbanized region located in southeastern Los Angeles County. Bell Gardens is notable for being one of only six Los Angeles County cities (out of 88 total) to permit casino gambling and for being home of the oldest building in Los Angeles County. Bell Gardens is named after James George Bell, an American businessman. The “Gardens” in its name derives from the many Japanese who, early in Bell Gardens’ existence, established vegetable gardens and rice fields. …
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
4 towns share a border with Bell Gardens.
| Town | CA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bell Gardens | #726 | D− | D | C | C | D |
| Bell | #690 | D | D | C− | B− | C− |
| Commerce | #679 | D | D | D− | C | C |
| Cudahy | #737 | D− | D | C− | B− | D |
| Downey | #257 | C+ | D− | — | B+ | B |
Downey reports no FBI crime data of its own. Compare Bell Gardens with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Bell Gardens grades D− overall, better than 4% of U.S. towns and #726 of 841 in California. It grades D for health, C for safety and C for schools. Hazard risk is its weak spot, with a D.
Within California, it does better than 54% of towns.
4 notable people were born here, including Cristina Garcia and John Force.
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