130 years in pictures
Census counts: 4,312 in 1960, 11,780 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 2024 and 8 maps from 1896 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
- 1896Los Alamitos is established
Each edition grades its towns against each other only.

Homes are expensive, about $1.6 million for a typical one and 16.3 times the Los Angeles metro’s $96K median household income. Overall it grades C, 385th of 841 graded towns in California. It is easier to get around on foot or by transit than 92% of U.S. towns. Its weakest subject is hazard risk: FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 90% of U.S. communities, with earthquakes at the top. Los Alamitos’ typical home value is $1,569,000, where California’s towns sit at $709,000 and U.S. towns at $332,000. Los Alamitos is home to Touro University Worldwide.
Where Los Alamitos beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Where Los Alamitos’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 Los Alamitos is from typical.
Its grades run from A for walkability (better than 92% of comparable towns) to D− for cost of living (better than 1%), so the C overall blends very different results.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 4,312 in 1960, 11,780 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 2024 and 8 maps from 1896 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Los Alamitos. Close and well known come first.
Big draw8 mi Theme parkDisneyland17.3M visitors a year
Big draw19 mi Stadium & arenaSoFi Stadium
Big draw5 mi Theme parkKnott's Berry Farm4.5M visitors a year
Big draw27 mi LandmarkHollywood Walk of Fame10.0M visitors a year
Big draw13 mi MuseumUSS Iowa
Big draw20 mi MuseumLucas Museum of Narrative ArtDisneyland: HarshLight from San Jose, CA, USA, CC BY 2.0 · SoFi Stadium: Thank You (21 Millions+) views, CC BY 2.0 · Knott's Berry Farm: Phydend at English Wikipedia, Public domain · Hollywood Walk of Fame: BenSherman, Public domain · USS Iowa: PH1 Jeff Hilton, Public domain · Lucas Museum of Narrative Art: Kriddl, CC0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Los Alamitos, 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 Los Alamitos.
Los Alamitos draws workers from Long Beach and beyond, fares better on crime within California than nationally and has milder winter nights than nearly all U.S. towns.
At 16.3 years of the Los Angeles metro’s $96K median household income, the typical home (about $1.57M) costs more against local pay than in 94% of California towns; that ratio is one input to its D− for cost of living. Its typical home is the priciest on its borders; Cypress is next at $1.07M.
Los Alamitos’ median rent is $2,365 a month. Typical home values rose 5.5% in the year to September 2026. 42% of Los Alamitos households own their home.
| Los Alamitos | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 42% | 64% | 73% |
| Median rent | $2,365 a month | $1,895 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Its public schools are run by the Los Alamitos Unified school district. Two of its 5 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Los Alamitos High, with 2,915 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sharon Christa McAuliffe MiddleLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 1,018 | C− |
| Los Alamitos HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 2,915 | A |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within CA on state tests and graduation
12,906 jobs are based in Los Alamitos, 2.3 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in.
Most working residents leave Los Alamitos for work: only 6% work in town. The average trip to work in Los Alamitos is 31 minutes. Since 2013, Los Alamitos has added 866 jobs, to 12,906 in 2023.
| Los Alamitos | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 31 minutes | 28 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Work from home | 15% | 14% | 11% |
| Median household income | $97,000 | $95,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 8.9% | 10% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Since 1983, 2 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Los Alamitos.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
At 32.7 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports more crime than 59% of California’s graded towns. Reported crimes fell from 323 to 218 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Los Alamitos beats the California average on 7 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 1. 25% of adults have obesity in Los Alamitos.
| Los Alamitos | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 25% | 29% | 35% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 9.7% | 11% | 14% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 74% | 72% | 79% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 31% | 35% |
| What stands out | Los Alamitos | CA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer uninsured adults | 7.2% | 10.6% |
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 14.2% | 17.9% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 7.6% | 6.4% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
January nights average 46.7°, milder than in 97% of U.S. towns; July afternoons average 80.5°.
Los Alamitos has warm winters and pleasant summers, with very little rain. Snow is almost unheard of.
| Los Alamitos | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| January low | 47°F | 40°F | 22°F |
| July high | 81°F | 89°F | 85°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
No broad age group is more than 4 points off the California average. 44% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 37% across California.
| Los Alamitos | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 44% | 29% | 29% |
| Aged 65 or older | 14% | 16% | 18% |
| Under 18 | 24% | 22% | 22% |
| Median age | 37.2 years | 39.1 years | 40.5 years |
54% women, 46% men
About 85 men for every 100 women (the survey’s margin: ±3.5 points). Across California, 50.1% of residents are women.
| Los Alamitos | CA | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 13.6% | 11.4% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 10.8% | 10.5% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 7% | 9.1% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 15.9% | 14.8% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 13.8% | 13.9% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 13% | 12.5% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 12.2% | 12.1% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 7.7% | 9.2% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 6% | 6.5% | 7% |
| No diploma | 4.9% | 15.3% | 10.4% |
| High school | 18.5% | 20.5% | 26% |
| Some college | 22.2% | 19.3% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 10.1% | 7.9% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 31.3% | 22.7% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 12.9% | 14.4% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
| Los Alamitos | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.3 miles per square mile | 1.0 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 1.8% | 4.3% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Little Cottonwood Park | 0.5 mi | 7 |
| 2. Coyote Creek Park | 0.4 mi | 4 |
| 3. Oak Academy Park | 0.1 mi | 12 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
42 within 15 miles of the center of Los Alamitos
About 9 of every 100 Los Alamitos residents are enrolled in college, about the same as California.
18 notable people were born in Los Alamitos.




City in California, United States
Los Alamitos (lohs AL-ə-MEE-tohs; Spanish for 'the little cottonwoods') is a city in Orange County, California, United States. It was incorporated in March 1960. Its population was 11,780 in the 2020 census, up from 11,449 in 2010. A significant part of the city is occupied by Joint Forces Training Base – Los Alamitos, and it hosts the USA Water Polo National Aquatic Center.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
5 towns share a border with Los Alamitos.
| Town | CA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Los Alamitos | #385 | C | D− | C− | B+ | B+ |
| Cypress | #256 | C+ | D− | C | B | A |
| Rossmoor | #39 | A− | D− | — | A | A |
| Seal Beach | #230 | B− | D | D | A | A− |
| Long Beach | #564 | D | D− | D | B | B |
| Garden Grove | #358 | C | D− | C+ | A− | B− |
Rossmoor reports no FBI crime data of its own. Compare Los Alamitos with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Los Alamitos grades C overall, better than 30% of U.S. towns and #385 of 841 in California. It grades B+ for health, C− for safety and B+ for schools. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a D−.
Yes. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades D−.
Los Alamitos was established in 1896 and has 1 place on the National Register of Historic Places. 18 notable people were born here, including Ralph Flanagan and Howard Shu.