Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
West Whittier-Los Nietos’s overall grade of C+ puts it better than 38% of U.S. towns, 297th of 841 in California. Its lowest grade is for cost of living (D): the typical home is worth about $639K, 6.7 years of the Los Angeles metro’s $96K median household income. It lags on hazard risk as well: FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 92% of U.S. communities, with earthquakes at the top. Walkability is its strong suit: it is more walkable than 86% of U.S. towns. Add incomes to its strengths: the median household earns $112K. West Whittier-Los Nietos’ January low is 47°F, above both the California town median (40°F) and the median of U.S. towns (22°F). Its remaining grades are unremarkable: B for schools and B− for health.
Figures: incomes, Census ACS, 2020–24 · home values, Zillow · FEMA National Risk Index · schools, state test and graduation results · health, CDC PLACES · NOAA normals, 1991–2020.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within California), ordered by how far West Whittier-Los Nietos is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Where West Whittier-Los Nietos beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Census counts: 20,845 in 1970, 25,325 in 2020. The archive holds 1 old photo or paper going back to 2024 and 8 maps from 1896 on.
Explore the history →Where West Whittier-Los Nietos’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
Ordered by what stands out in West Whittier-Los Nietos.
West Whittier-Los Nietos has milder winter nights than nearly all U.S. towns and sends most of its workers to Los Angeles and beyond, but it trails even towns with similar incomes on health.
West Whittier-Los Nietos has had one paid flood insurance claim since 1980. 58% of the town’s expected losses from natural hazards come from earthquakes, followed by inland flooding at 40%.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
The public schools here belong to the Whittier City school district. Below: Two of its 11 schools, each with why it was picked. 5 public schools serve West Whittier-Los Nietos, with 1,940 students in all.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Katherine Edwards Mid Sch STEAM & Dual Immersion AcadLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 894 | – |
| Pioneer HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,000 | B+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within CA on state tests and graduation
West Whittier-Los Nietos has 2,081 jobs for its 11,088 working residents: even if every job went to a resident, most would still commute out.
Just 2% of West Whittier-Los Nietos’s working residents have a job in town. Between 2013 and 2023, jobs here rose by 290, to 2,081. For West Whittier-Los Nietos, the average trip to work is 32 minutes. The median commute is under 11 miles.
| West Whittier-Los Nietos | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 32 minutes | 28 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $112,000 | $95,000 | $80,000 |
| Work from home | 8.2% | 14% | 11% |
| Working residents who work in town | 1.6% | 6.6% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
January nights average 46.7°, milder than in 97% of U.S. towns; July afternoons average 86.1°.
Snowfall is close to zero. For West Whittier-Los Nietos, the July high is 86°F.
| West Whittier-Los Nietos | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| January low | 47°F | 40°F | 22°F |
| July high | 86°F | 89°F | 85°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
In West Whittier-Los Nietos, the concentration of trails is 0.3 miles per square mile. Across 1 park or preserve: 0.6 miles of trail. Parks and preserves here: one, of 10 acres.
| West Whittier-Los Nietos | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.3 miles per square mile | 1.0 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 3.6% | 4.3% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Sorensen Park | 0.3 mi | 10 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Against the 6,893 U.S. towns with household incomes like West Whittier-Los Nietos’s, it is less healthy than 84%, so it trails even them.
The share of adults in West Whittier-Los Nietos who report frequent physical distress: 15%. The town does better than the California average on 4 of 32 CDC measures and worse on 13. Two figures for adults here: 70% had a checkup this year, 24% worry about having enough food.
| West Whittier-Los Nietos | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 41% | 36% | 33% |
| No health insurance, 18–64 (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 9% | 8.1% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 70% | 72% | 79% |
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 24% | 16% | 14% |
| What stands out | West Whittier-Los Nietos | CA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults who have had cancer | 5% | 6.4% |
| Fewer adults with COPD | 4.1% | 5.1% |
| More uninsured adults | 17.7% | 10.6% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
76% of households own their home in West Whittier-Los Nietos. West Whittier-Los Nietos’ midpoint rent comes in at $1,913 a month. A home in West Whittier-Los Nietos typically sold within 45 days of listing.
| West Whittier-Los Nietos | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,913 a month | $1,895 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 76% | 64% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around West Whittier-Los Nietos. Close and well known come first.
Big draw16 mi Stadium & arenaSoFi Stadium
Big draw14 mi Theme parkDisneyland17.4M visitors a year
Big draw18 mi LandmarkHollywood Walk of Fame10.0M visitors a year
Big draw13 mi MuseumLucas Museum of Narrative Art
Big draw13 mi Stadium & arenaLos Angeles Memorial Coliseum
Big draw12 mi Stadium & arenaCrypto.com ArenaSoFi Stadium: Thank You (21 Millions+) views, CC BY 2.0 · Disneyland: HarshLight from San Jose, CA, USA, 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 · Crypto.com Arena: Troutfarm27, CC BY-SA 4.0
West Whittier-Los Nietos 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.
66 within 15 miles of the center of West Whittier-Los Nietos
About 9 of every 100 West Whittier-Los Nietos residents are enrolled in college, about the same as California.
Census-designated place in California, United States
West Whittier-Los Nietos () is a census-designated place (CDP) in Los Angeles County, California, United States, near the San Gabriel River and the San Gabriel River (I-605) Freeway. The population was 25,325 at the 2020 census, down from 25,540 at the 2010 census. The census area consists of separate unincorporated communities of Los Nietos (Spanish for "the grandchildren") and West Whittier.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
3 towns share a border with West Whittier-Los Nietos.
It grades higher overall than all 3 graded towns on its borders; Whittier (C) comes closest.
| Town | CA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| West Whittier-Los Nietos | #297 | C+ | D | — | B | B− |
| Santa Fe Springs | #596 | D | D− | D− | B+ | B− |
| Whittier | #383 | C | D− | C− | B+ | B+ |
| Pico Rivera | #517 | C− | D | C− | B | C+ |
West Whittier-Los Nietos reports no FBI crime data of its own. Compare West Whittier-Los Nietos with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
West Whittier-Los Nietos grades C+ overall, better than 38% of U.S. towns and #297 of 841 in California. It grades B− for health and B for schools. Hazard risk is its weak spot, with a D.
Yes. The typical home is worth about $639,000, 16% below the California typical home. 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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