Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
The typical home is worth about $3.2 million, 33 years of the Los Angeles metro’s $96K median household income. Overall it grades C+, 318th among California's 841 graded towns. Residents are healthier than 93% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates and its public schools beat 89% of California towns on state tests and graduation. Its weakest subject is hazard risk: FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 87% of U.S. communities, with inland flooding at the top. 32% of residents are 65 or older in Malibu, above both the California town median (16%) and the median of U.S. towns (18%). On safety, just 34 of California’s 426 towns do worse. The biggest place to walk is Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area, 12,575 acres with 15.4 miles of trail.
Where Malibu beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within California), ordered by how far Malibu is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 2,438 in 1980, 10,654 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1910 and 6 maps from 1929 on.
4 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Malibu. Close and well known come first.
Big draw27 mi Stadium & arenaSoFi Stadium
Big draw27 mi LandmarkHollywood Walk of Fame10.0M visitors a year
Big draw29 mi MuseumLucas Museum of Narrative Art
Big draw29 mi Stadium & arenaLos Angeles Memorial Coliseum
Big draw26 mi MuseumLa Brea Tar Pits
Big draw35 mi MuseumUSS IowaSoFi Stadium: Thank You (21 Millions+) views, CC BY 2.0 · Hollywood Walk of Fame: BenSherman, Public domain · Lucas Museum of Narrative Art: Kriddl, CC0 · Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum: CanonStarGal, CC BY-SA 4.0 · La Brea Tar Pits: Daniel Schwen, CC BY-SA 2.5 · USS Iowa: PH1 Jeff Hilton, Public domain
Who provides power, water and the rest in Malibu, 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 Malibu.
Malibu is a second-home town and has milder winter nights than nearly all U.S. towns, but it has homes that cost more against local pay than most of California.
At 33 years of the Los Angeles metro’s $96K median household income, the typical home (about $3.17M) costs more against local pay than in 99% of California towns; that ratio is one input to its D− for cost of living.
The median rent in Malibu is $3,501 a month. The typical Malibu home is worth about $3,171,000, up 2.6% in a year, 4 times the California typical home. 75% of Malibu households own their home.
| Malibu | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $3,501 a month | $1,895 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 75% | 64% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Its A for schools comes with a D− for cost of living: the typical home is worth about $3.17M.
Its public schools are run by the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified school district. Two of its 7 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Malibu High, with 387 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Malibu MiddleLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 256 | – |
| Malibu HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 387 | A |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within CA on state tests and graduation
Against the 1,043 U.S. towns with household incomes like Malibu’s, it is less healthy than 66%: its national edge comes with its incomes.
23% of adults have obesity in Malibu. Malibu beats the California average on 21 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 4. 29% of adults sleep under 7 hours in Malibu.
| Malibu | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 23% | 29% | 35% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 35% | 36% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 17% | 17% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 7.6% | 11% | 14% |
| What stands out | Malibu | CA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer uninsured adults | 3.2% | 10.6% |
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 6.9% | 17.9% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 11.2% | 6.4% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Reported crimes fell from 483 to 263 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
Malibu’s violent crime rate is 5.7 per 1,000 residents. Malibu reports more crime per resident than most U.S. towns we grade: about 93% report less. Malibu’s property crime rate is 20.1 per 1,000 residents.
| Malibu | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 5.7 per 1,000 residents | 2.9 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 20.1 per 1,000 residents | 13.3 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
133 flood insurance claims have been filed here, and 62 properties have flooded more than once.
Since 1988, 133 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Malibu.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
January nights average 49.4°, milder than in 98% of U.S. towns; July afternoons average 72.8°.
Among 846 California towns, just 9 have a higher January low than Malibu. Malibu has warm winters and cool summers, with very little rain. Snow is almost unheard of.
| Malibu | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| July high | 73°F | 89°F | 85°F |
| January low | 49°F | 40°F | 22°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
40.1% of workers work from home, against 17.2% across California.
Most working residents leave Malibu for work: only 9% work in town. Since 2013, Malibu has added 701 jobs, to 5,307 in 2023. The top destinations are Los Angeles (34%), Burbank (7%) and Santa Monica (5%).
| Malibu | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $194,000 | $95,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 32 minutes | 28 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 13% | 10% | 9.6% |
| Working residents who work in town | 9.5% | 6.6% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
| Malibu | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.5 miles per square mile | 1.0 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 5.7% | 4.2% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area | 15.4 mi | 12,575 |
| 2. Zuma and Trancas Canyons | 6.3 mi | 707 |
| 3. Charmlee Wilderness Park | 4.4 mi | 361 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
1 within 15 miles of the center of Malibu
About 7 of every 100 Malibu residents are enrolled in college, about the same as California.
12,645 counted in 2010 and 10,654 in 2020; an estimated 9,574 in 2025.
The decline has continued: down 10.1% since 2020, after 15.7% in the decade before.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
11 notable people were born in Malibu.
City in California, United States
Malibu ( MAL-ih-boo; Chumash: Humaliwo; Spanish: Malibú) is a beach city in the Santa Monica Mountains region of Los Angeles County, California, United States, about 30 miles (48 km) west of Los Angeles. It is known for its Mediterranean climate, its strip of beaches stretching 21 miles (34 km) along the Pacific coast, and for its longtime status as the home of numerous Hollywood celebrities and executives with several of its residents in the entertainment industry. The Pacific Coast Highway (State Route 1) traverses the city, following along the South Coast of California. As of the 2020 census, the city's population was 10,654. The 2025 Palisades Fire devastated Malibu, with almost all of.…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
3 towns share a border with Malibu.
| Town | CA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Malibu | #318 | C+ | D− | D | A | A |
| Pepperdine University | – | B+ | D− | — | A | A |
| Topanga | #275 | C+ | D− | — | B− | A |
| Los Angeles | #613 | D | D− | D | B− | B− |
Pepperdine University and Topanga report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Malibu with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Malibu grades C+ overall, better than 36% of U.S. towns and #318 of 841 in California. It grades A for health, D for safety and A for schools. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a D−.
Yes. The typical home is worth about $3,171,000, 316% above the California typical home and up 2.6% in a year. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades D−.
11 notable people were born here, including Navi Rawat and Tom Schaar.
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