Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 24,075, settled in 1914. Public schools that outperform most of California.
Trash day: look up yoursFEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 94% of U.S. communities, with inland flooding at the top. Overall it grades B−, 230th among California's 841 graded towns. Its public schools beat 90% of California towns on state tests and graduation and it is healthier than 82% of U.S. towns. Its weakest subject is cost of living: homes are expensive, about $838K for a typical one and 8.7 times the Los Angeles metro’s $96K median household income. 44% of residents are 65 or older in Seal Beach, above both California’s towns (16%) and U.S. towns (18%). Seal Beach is more walkable than 87% of U.S. towns. The biggest park or preserve is Seal Beach National Wildlife Refuge, at 969 acres.
Where Seal Beach beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
| School | Grades | Students |
|---|---|---|
| J. H. McGaugh Elementary | K–5 | 721 |
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within California), ordered by how far Seal Beach is from typical.
Its grades run from A for schools (better than 90% of comparable towns) to D− for hazard risk (better than 3%), so the B− overall blends very different results.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 669 in 1920, 25,242 in 2020. The archive holds 4 old photos and papers going back to 2013 and 8 maps from 1896 on.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Seal Beach. Close and well known come first.
Big draw10 mi Theme parkDisneyland17.3M visitors a year
Big draw20 mi Stadium & arenaSoFi Stadium
Big draw12 mi MuseumUSS Iowa
Big draw7 mi Theme parkKnott's Berry Farm4.5M visitors a year
Big draw29 mi LandmarkHollywood Walk of Fame10.0M visitors a year
Big draw22 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 · USS Iowa: PH1 Jeff Hilton, Public domain · Knott's Berry Farm: Phydend at English Wikipedia, Public domain · Hollywood Walk of Fame: BenSherman, Public domain · Lucas Museum of Narrative Art: Kriddl, CC0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Seal Beach, 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 Seal Beach.
Seal Beach has milder winter nights than nearly all U.S. towns and has home values climbing faster than California’s, but it has a long record of flood insurance claims.
Its A for schools comes with a D for cost of living: the typical home is worth about $838K.
Its public schools are run by the Los Alamitos Unified school district. Its one school is below.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| J. H. McGaugh ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades K–5 | Grades K–5 | 721 | B+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within CA on state tests and graduation
107 flood insurance claims have been filed here, and 13 properties have flooded more than once.
Since 1983, 107 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Seal Beach.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
The property crime rate in Seal Beach is 25.3 per 1,000 residents.
| Seal Beach | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 25.3 per 1,000 residents | 13.3 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 3.8 per 1,000 residents | 2.9 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
12% of Seal Beach adults report frequent mental distress. Seal Beach beats the California average on 21 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 7. 6.4% of Seal Beach adults smoke cigarettes.
| Seal Beach | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 12% | 17% | 17% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 21% | 29% | 35% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 12% | 16% | 16% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 6.4% | 11% | 14% |
| What stands out | Seal Beach | CA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing housing insecurity | 5.8% | 14.9% |
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 7.2% | 17.9% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 13.5% | 6.4% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
January nights average 47.4°, milder than in 98% of U.S. towns; July afternoons average 77.9°.
Seal Beach has warm winters and pleasant summers, with very little rain. Seal Beach’s July high is 78°F. Snow is almost unheard of.
| Seal Beach | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| July high | 78°F | 89°F | 85°F |
| January low | 47°F | 40°F | 22°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Jobs based here grew from 8,749 in 2013 to 11,962. 25.9% of workers work from home, against 17.2% across California.
Most working residents leave Seal Beach for work: only 5% work in town. 26% of workers work from home in Seal Beach. Jobs based in Seal Beach grew to 11,962 in 2023, 3,213 more than in 2013.
| Seal Beach | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work from home | 26% | 14% | 11% |
| Below the poverty line | 6.7% | 10% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 29 minutes | 28 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $86,000 | $95,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
| Seal Beach | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.5 miles per square mile | 1.0 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 4.1% | 4.3% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Gum Grove Park | 0.5 mi | 11 |
| 2. Seal Beach National Wildlife Refuge | 0.4 mi | 969 |
| 3. River's End Park | 0.3 mi | 5 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Home values rose 29% in five years, to about $838K, against 13% across California.
Typical home values rose 4.5% in the year to September 2026.
| Seal Beach | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $2,649 a month | $1,895 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 77% | 64% | 73% |
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
40 within 15 miles of the center of Seal Beach
About 4 of every 100 Seal Beach residents are enrolled in college, against 8 across California.
6 notable people were born in Seal Beach.
City in California, United States
Seal Beach is a coastal city in Orange County, California, United States. It was originally known as Bay City before it was incorporated into Orange County under its current name on October 24, 1915. As of the 2020 census, the population was 25,242, up from 24,168 at the 2010 census. Seal Beach is located in the westernmost corner of Orange County. To the northwest, just across the border with Los Angeles County, lies the city of Long Beach and the adjacent San Pedro Bay. To the southeast are Huntington Harbour, a neighborhood of Huntington Beach, and Sunset Beach, also part of Huntington Beach. To the east lie the city of Westminster and the neighborhood of West Garden Grove, part of the c…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
6 towns share a border with Seal Beach.
| Town | CA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seal Beach | #230 | B− | D | D | A | A− |
| Huntington Beach | #167 | B− | D− | C | A | A− |
| Rossmoor | #39 | A− | D− | — | A | A |
| Long Beach | #564 | D | D− | D | B | B |
| Los Alamitos | #385 | C | D− | C− | B+ | B+ |
| Westminster | #519 | C− | D− | C− | A− | C+ |
| Garden Grove | #358 | C | D− | C+ | A− | B− |
Rossmoor reports no FBI crime data of its own. Compare Seal Beach with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Seal Beach grades B− overall, better than 47% of U.S. towns and #230 of 841 in California. It grades A− for health, D for safety and A for schools. Hazard risk 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.
6 notable people were born here, including Jimmy Bennett and Susan Egan.
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