Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town in California, home to 8,726 people.
West Athens grades low on several counts. Its weakest subject is cost of living — the typical home is worth about $736K, 7.7 years of the Los Angeles metro’s $96K median household income. This California town grades C− overall and ranks 523rd of 841 in California. On that grade it does better than 17% of U.S. towns. Hazard risk is weaker too (D): FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 83% of U.S. communities, with earthquakes at the top. Where it does best is walkability (A+): it is more walkable than 95% of U.S. towns. 16% of the land locally is conserved, where California’s towns sit at 4.2% and U.S. towns at 4.3%. The town is home to Los Angeles Southwest College.
Figures: home values, Zillow · incomes, Census ACS, 2020–24 · FEMA National Risk Index · USGS PAD-US.
Where West Athens beats most towns.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within California), ordered by how far West Athens is from typical.
Its grades run from A+ for walkability (better than 95% of comparable towns) to D for cost of living (better than 7%), so the C− overall blends very different results.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 13,286 in 1970, 9,393 in 2020. The archive holds 3 old photos and papers going back to 1906 and 7 maps from 1896 on.
Explore the history →Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around West Athens. Close and well known come first.
Big draw3 mi Stadium & arenaSoFi Stadium
Big draw13 mi LandmarkHollywood Walk of Fame10.0M visitors a year
Big draw6 mi MuseumLucas Museum of Narrative Art
Big draw6 mi Stadium & arenaLos Angeles Memorial Coliseum
Big draw3 mi Stadium & arenaIntuit Dome
Big draw23 mi Theme parkDisneyland17.3M visitors a yearSoFi 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 · Intuit Dome: Spatms, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Disneyland: HarshLight from San Jose, CA, USA, CC BY 2.0
West Athens is unincorporated, so Los Angeles County and regional agencies provide most services.
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 West Athens.
West Athens has milder winter nights than nearly all U.S. towns, but it has many renters stretched by housing costs.
FEMA puts 72% of West Athens’s expected hazard losses down to earthquakes, and 27% to inland flooding.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Three of its 7 schools are shown below, with the reason for each. The largest public high school is Stella High Charter Academy, with 555 students. 3 public schools serve West Athens, with 1,987 students in all.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Animo Legacy Charter MiddleLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 887 | – |
| Stella High Charter AcademyLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 555 | B+ |
| Middle College HighTop results in townGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 361 | A |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within CA on state tests and graduation
In West Athens, 2.2% of working residents work locally. Employers in West Athens added 237 jobs between 2013 and 2023, to 1,550. The median household income in the town is $67,000. The top destinations are Los Angeles (36%), Torrance (5%) and Long Beach (4%).
| West Athens | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 15% | 10% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $67,000 | $95,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 2.2% | 6.6% | 8% |
| Work from home | 15% | 14% | 11% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Walkers can cover 0.2 miles of trail in 1 park or preserve. One park or preserve covers 7 acres in West Athens.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Helen Keller Park | 0.1 mi | 7 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
January nights average 48°, milder than in 98% of U.S. towns; July afternoons average 80.9°.
Snow almost never falls. In West Athens, the January low is 48°F.
| West Athens | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| January low | 48°F | 40°F | 22°F |
| July high | 81°F | 89°F | 85°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
For adults in West Athens, the share who say their health is fair or poor is 26%. On the CDC’s 32 measures, West Athens is ahead of California on 2 and behind on 16. Among adults in the town, 26% worry about having enough food and 41% sleep under 7 hours.
| West Athens | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 43% | 36% | 33% |
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 26% | 16% | 14% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 41% | 35% | 36% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 22% | 23% |
| What stands out | West Athens | CA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 4.7% | 6.4% |
| Fewer adults with heart disease | 5% | 5.6% |
| More adults facing housing insecurity | 23.4% | 14.9% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
70.4% of renter households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, against 55.3% across California.
Among households in West Athens, 55% are owner-occupiers. West Athens’ median rent stands at $1,622 a month.
| West Athens | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 55% | 64% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,622 a month | $1,898 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
55 within 15 miles of the center of West Athens
About 6 of every 100 West Athens residents are enrolled in college, against 8 across California.
Where West Athens’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
Unincorporated community in California, United States
West Athens is a census-designated place (CDP) in Los Angeles County, California, United States. The population was 9,393 at the 2020 census. It is an unincorporated community within the 2nd Supervisorial District of Los Angeles County. West Athens is served by the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, operating out of the South Los Angeles Station. The approximate boundaries for West Athens are: 87th Street to the north, Vermont Avenue to the east, El Segundo Boulevard to the south, and approximately Western Avenue to Van Ness Avenue to the west. West Athens is predominantly residential, with commercial uses along its main corridors. Los Angeles Southwest Community College lies within t…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
3 towns share a border with West Athens.
It grades higher overall than all 3 graded towns on its borders; Los Angeles (D) comes closest.
| Town | CA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| West Athens | #523 | C− | D | — | B− | C+ |
| Hawthorne | #634 | D | D− | D | B | C+ |
| Los Angeles | #613 | D | D− | D | B− | B− |
| Westmont | #707 | D− | D | — | B− | D |
West Athens and Westmont report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare West Athens with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
West Athens grades C− overall, better than 17% of U.S. towns and #523 of 841 in California. It grades C+ for health 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.
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