Signal Hill, CA — Momentum Score, Home Values & Best-For

All states·California·Signal Hill

Los Angeles County · Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim · population 11,279

ShrinkingSmall-town feel
View watchlist →
49
Stable
Momentum score · 0–100

Where Signal Hill stands

Population shrinking 1.2% per year.

Median home $713,194
1-year -2.2%
5-yr CAGR +3.2%
vs 5-yr peak -3.6%
Population -1.2%/yr

Home value trajectory · last 10 years

Zillow ZHVI · monthly
peak 2025-01$713k$403k$525k$647k$770k201620182020202220242026

Lifestyle scores

🚶
Walkability
25/100
Very car-dependent
Estimated from population density. Higher = denser, more amenities within walking distance.
🚉
Public transit
15/100
Transit limited
Curated list of major US transit systems + population-based estimate. Higher = real subway/rail/bus options.
💻
Remote work fit
33/100
Poor remote-work fit
Composite of city size, housing cost, state tax structure, and region's remote-work track record.

Scores are heuristic estimates from population density, state, and known transit/walkable cities. Not based on a paid Walk Score / Transit Score API — see methodology for the formula.

Rent vs buy

Price-to-rent ratio: 22.0
Lean rent

At a 22.0 price-to-rent ratio, the math is starting to lean toward renting in Signal Hill. Owner-occupier ROI requires longer holds and the assumption that prices keep appreciating roughly at the rate of rent.

How the momentum score breaks down

methodology →
Home YoY
39 · w22%
Home 5-yr CAGR
54 · w22%
Distance from peak
68 · w18%
Population growth
27 · w16%
Home 10-yr CAGR
60 · w10%
Long thesis

Signal Hill has held up across the cycle: home values at $713,194 with +3.2% 5-year CAGR. The bull case is structural — population, location, employer base — and holds even if next year's print is soft.

Short thesis

Signal Hill's population is shrinking 1.2% per year. Housing demand has to come from somewhere — if people are leaving, the buyer pool is shrinking faster than the inventory. That eventually shows up in price.

About Signal Hill

Signal Hill is a city in Los Angeles County, California, with an estimated population of 11,279. It anchors the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim metro area. The population has contracted 1.2% per year on average since 2020. The median home value in Signal Hill is $713,194 as of 2026-04, down 2.2% over the last 12 months. Over the last five years, home values have averaged +3.2% annual growth (-3.6% from the 5-year peak). Rents in Signal Hill average $2,704 per month. The composite momentum score is 49 of 100 (Stable). Conditions are neither hot nor cold, so the local fit matters more than market timing.

Bull case

The data is the data: Signal Hill has at least 5 years of Zillow tracking, full Census identification, and is included in the 1-criteria momentum score on this page.

Bear case

Net out-migration: population shrinking 1.2% per year — services, schools, and tax base will follow.
Expensive AND not growing: median home $713,194 with only -2.2% YoY. You’re paying premium pricing for a flat trend.
Cooling: -2.2% over the trailing year — momentum has stalled.
Thin housing market: small population means fewer transactions and slower resale. Liquidity risk on exit.

Playbook

Buyer

Lifestyle fit matters more than market timing in a Stable market. Take your time on the home and neighborhood; the macro trend isn't urgent. Negotiate normally.

Seller

Price competitively from day one or risk a 60+ day listing. Staging, photography, and presentation matter more in Stable markets than in Hot ones.

Investor

Stable cap rates, no big appreciation story to lean on. Underwrite this as a pure cash-flow play — the math has to work on rent alone.

Local safety & alerts

No active National Weather Service alerts for Los Angeles County right now.

Public-safety links are official .gov sources, not curated by us. Los Angeles County routes NWS alerts; check the state EM portal for non-weather emergencies.

Cities like Signal Hill

Sources: Zillow ZHVI (home values), Zillow ZORI (rents), US Census ACS + place population. Updated when source agencies publish revisions.

Climate & natural-disaster risk

Winter (Jan)
60° / 41°
avg high / low
Summer (Jul)
82° / 60°
avg high / low
Sunny days/yr
258
~71% of year
Annual precip
22″ rain
8″ snow
Disaster risk (1=very low, 5=very high)
Hurricane
Very low
Tornado
Very low
Wildfire
Very high
Earthquake
Very high
Flood
Moderate

State-level averages from NOAA Climate Normals (1991-2020) and FEMA National Risk Index. City-level conditions can vary significantly within a state.

Local sports teams

Major professional teams the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim area cheers for. Detailed stats, schedules, and player pages on intherafters.com.

Current weather

Loading current conditions…

7-day forecast on weather.gov →

Find rentals & listings

Open current Signal Hill listings on the major real-estate sites.

Links open the live search on the destination site — results are always current.

Local economy & environment

Humidity
65%
Moderate climate
Median household income
$91,500
California state median
Top industries (state-level)
TechEntertainmentAgriculture

Humidity is annual average relative humidity (NOAA). Income is Census ACS 5-year estimate. Industries are largest employment sectors statewide (BLS); the local mix in a given city may vary.

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