Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
South El Monte earns a D−, 751st among California's 841 graded towns, mostly because of safety and health. Its crime rate is higher than 92% of U.S. towns, with 104 violent crimes reported to the FBI in 2025. Residents are less healthy than 82% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates. What it does well: it is easier to get around on foot or by transit than 94% of U.S. towns. South El Monte's civic life (library use, community groups, volunteering) trails 99% of U.S. towns. FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 95% of U.S. communities, with earthquakes at the top.
Where South El Monte beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Where South El Monte’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 South El Monte is from typical.
Its grades run from A for walkability (better than 94% of comparable towns) to D− for hazard risk (better than 3%), so the D− overall blends very different results.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 4,850 in 1960, 19,567 in 2020. The archive holds 8 old photos and papers going back to 2011 and 8 maps from 1896 on.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around South El Monte. Close and well known come first.
Big draw18 mi Stadium & arenaSoFi Stadium
Big draw17 mi LandmarkHollywood Walk of Fame10.0M visitors a year
Big draw18 mi Theme parkDisneyland17.3M visitors a year
Big draw14 mi MuseumLucas Museum of Narrative Art
Big draw14 mi Stadium & arenaLos Angeles Memorial Coliseum
Big draw13 mi Stadium & arenaCrypto.com ArenaSoFi Stadium: Thank You (21 Millions+) views, CC BY 2.0 · Hollywood Walk of Fame: BenSherman, Public domain · Disneyland: HarshLight from San Jose, CA, USA, CC BY 2.0 · Lucas Museum of Narrative Art: Kriddl, CC0 · 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 South El Monte, 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 South El Monte.
South El Monte draws workers from El Monte and beyond, has milder winter nights than nearly all U.S. towns and has seen reported crime fall by a fifth or more.
13,936 jobs are based in South El Monte, 1.8 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in.
Most working residents leave South El Monte for work: only 8% work in town. 21% of South El Monte residents live below the poverty line, above both the California town median (10%) and the median of U.S. towns (9.6%). 6.7% of workers work from home in South El Monte.
| South El Monte | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 21% | 10% | 9.6% |
| Work from home | 6.7% | 14% | 11% |
| Median household income | $73,000 | $95,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 27 minutes | 28 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Two of its 6 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is South El Monte High, with 1,125 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monte Vista ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades K–8 | Grades K–8 | 785 | – |
| South El Monte HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,125 | – |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within CA on state tests and graduation
Reported crimes fell from 852 to 601 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
At 5.5 per 1,000 residents, South El Monte’s violent crime rate is above both California’s towns (2.9) and U.S. towns (1.6). South El Monte’s property crime rate is 26.1 per 1,000 residents. South El Monte reports more crime per resident than most U.S. towns we grade: about 92% report less.
| South El Monte | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 5.5 per 1,000 residents | 2.9 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 26.1 per 1,000 residents | 13.3 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
45% of South El Monte adults feel lonely. South El Monte beats the California average on 2 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 24. 38% of South El Monte adults say their health is fair or poor.
| South El Monte | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 38% | 22% | 19% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 14% | 14% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 40% | 24% | 25% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 45% | 36% | 33% |
| What stands out | South El Monte | CA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 4.1% | 6.4% |
| Fewer binge drinkers | 13.4% | 15.3% |
| More uninsured adults | 23.9% | 10.6% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
January nights average 46.1°, milder than in 97% of U.S. towns; July afternoons average 87.6°.
South El Monte has warm winters and warm summers, with very little rain. The January low in South El Monte is 46°F. Snow is almost unheard of.
| South El Monte | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| January low | 46°F | 40°F | 22°F |
| July high | 88°F | 89°F | 85°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
| South El Monte | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.2 miles per square mile | 1.0 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 0.9% | 4.3% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Shiveley Park | 0.2 mi | 6 |
| 2. Mary Van Dyke Park | 0.1 mi | 2 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
58 within 15 miles of the center of South El Monte
About 6 of every 100 South El Monte residents are enrolled in college, against 8 across California.
City in California, United States
South El Monte is a city in the San Gabriel Valley of Los Angeles County, California, United States. At the 2020 census, the city had a population of 19,567, down from 20,116 at the 2010 census.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
2 towns share a border with South El Monte.
| Town | CA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| South El Monte | #751 | D− | D | D | C+ | C− |
| El Monte | #668 | D | D− | C− | C+ | C |
| Rosemead | #522 | C− | D− | C− | A− | C+ |
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
South El Monte grades D− overall, better than 3% of U.S. towns and #751 of 841 in California. It grades C− for health, D for safety and C+ for schools. Hazard risk is its weak spot, with a D−.
Yes. That is 7.8 years of the area's median household income ($95,958 across the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA metro area). Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades D.
2 notable people were born here, including Joseph Diaz and Ruben Garcia.
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