What to know before you move: cost, market timing, who it fits.
If you're considering a move to Long Beach, CA, the most important variables are the local housing market, the cost structure (taxes, insurance, utilities), and how well the city fits your day-to-day life. This page summarizes the housing market read; pair it with the cost of living page for the full picture.
Long Beach is a city in Los Angeles County, California, with an estimated population of 450,901. It anchors the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim metro area. The population has contracted 0.9% per year on average since 2020. The median home value in Long Beach is $862,599 as of 2026-04, up 1.0% over the last 12 months. Over the last five years, home values have averaged +4.3% annual growth, with prices at or near the 5-year peak. Rents in Long Beach average $2,307 per month, roughly flat year-over-year (+1.5%). The composite momentum score is 59 of 100 (Stable). Conditions are neither hot nor cold, so the local fit matters more than market timing.
Sideways market (+1.0% YoY). No urgency to time the macro trend — focus on the home and neighborhood.
Reasons people move here
- Held the highs: currently -0.9% from the 5-year peak — this market refused to give back gains.
- The data is the data: Long Beach has at least 5 years of Zillow tracking, full Census identification, and is included in the 2-criteria momentum score on this page.
Things to know first
- Expensive AND not growing: median home $862,599 with only +1.0% YoY. You're paying premium pricing for a flat trend.
- Flat or shrinking population: -0.9% per year. Housing demand has to come from somewhere — verify the source.
More about Long Beach
Sources: Zillow ZHVI (home values), Zillow ZORI (rents), US Census ACS + place population. Updated when source agencies publish revisions.