Torrance, CA — Momentum Score, Home Values & Best-For

Los Angeles County · Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim · population 139,576

Shrinking
Torrance, CA
Image: Wikipedia · Torrance, California
View watchlist →
60
Stable
Momentum score · 0–100

Where Torrance stands

At or near all-time high. population shrinking 1.3% per year.

Median home $1,128,110
1-year +1.0%
5-yr CAGR +5.1%
vs 5-yr peak -0.5%
Population -1.3%/yr

Home value trajectory · last 10 years

Zillow ZHVI · monthly
peak 2026-01$1128k$570k$773k$976k$1179k201620182020202220242026

Lifestyle scores

🚶
Walkability
64/100
Somewhat walkable
Estimated from population density. Higher = denser, more amenities within walking distance.
🚉
Public transit
30/100
Minimal transit
Curated list of major US transit systems + population-based estimate. Higher = real subway/rail/bus options.
💻
Remote work fit
46/100
Marginal for remote
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 trajectory · last 5 years

Zillow ZORI · monthly
$3,012/mo$2,218$2,706$3,193202220242026

Home value vs rent · indexed to 100

Both rebased at first month of ZORI data (~2015)
Home valueRent128128100120202220242026

Rent vs buy

Price-to-rent ratio: 31.2
Rent

At a 31.2 price-to-rent ratio, renting beats buying in Torrance for most shorter holds. The premium you pay to own would take many years of rent savings to recoup, and that's before maintenance, taxes, and opportunity cost on the down payment.

How the momentum score breaks down

methodology →
Home YoY
55 · w22%
Home 5-yr CAGR
65 · w22%
Distance from peak
87 · w18%
Population growth
26 · w16%
Rent YoY
59 · w12%
Home 10-yr CAGR
69 · w10%
Long thesis

Torrance has held up across the cycle: home values at $1,128,110 with +5.1% 5-year CAGR. The bull case is structural — population, location, employer base — and holds even if next year's print is soft.

Short thesis

Torrance's population is shrinking 1.3% 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 Torrance

Torrance is a city in Los Angeles County, California, with an estimated population of 139,576. It anchors the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim metro area. The population has contracted 1.3% per year on average since 2020. The median home value in Torrance is $1,128,110 as of 2026-04, up 1.0% over the last 12 months. Over the last five years, home values have averaged +5.1% annual growth, with prices at or near the 5-year peak. Rents in Torrance average $3,012 per month, roughly flat year-over-year (+2.1%). The composite momentum score is 60 of 100 (Stable). Conditions are neither hot nor cold, so the local fit matters more than market timing.

Bull case

Healthy 5-year run: +5.1% annualized over 5 years, outpacing US inflation.
Held the highs: currently -0.5% from the 5-year peak — this market refused to give back gains.

Bear case

Net out-migration: population shrinking 1.3% per year — services, schools, and tax base will follow.
Expensive AND not growing: median home $1,128,110 with only +1.0% YoY. You’re paying premium pricing for a flat trend.

About Torrance (Wikipedia)

Torrance is a city in the Los Angeles metropolitan area in southwestern Los Angeles County, California, United States, founded in 1912, neighboring Redondo Beach, Rolling Hills Estates, Palos Verdes Estates, Lomita, Gardena, Lawndale, and Alondra Park, as well as the Los Angeles neighborhoods of Harbor City and Harbor Gateway. The city is part of what is known as the South Bay region.

Source: Wikipedia · this summary is contributed and licensed under CC-BY-SA.

City facts

MayorGeorge K. Chen
Area24.612 sq mi
Elevation82 ft
FoundedOctober 1912
Motto"A Balanced City"
Density6803.89/sq mi
Named forJared Sidney Torrance

Extracted from the Wikipedia infobox. Values may be slightly out of date relative to the latest sources.

Things to see in Torrance(Historic landmarks)

  • Main Building (Torrance High School) – Mediterranean Revival architecture, 1917 and 1921
  • Original Science Building – Current Home Economics Building (Torrance High School)
  • Auditorium (Torrance High School) – Streamline Moderne, 1938
  • Torrance Elementary School – Current High School Annex – Mediterranean Revival
  • Pacific Electric Railroad Bridge – designed by Irving Gill, 1913

Extracted from the Wikipedia article. Names linked in the source — open the city’s Wikipedia page for details.

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.

Neighborhoods of Torrance

33 tracked · ranked by median home value
1Pacific Colony$1,850,494-5.5%
2Pacific South Bay$1,803,362+3.3%
3Marble Estates$1,655,626+4.1%
4Palo del Amo$1,642,551+0.4%
5Country Hills$1,637,799+0.0%
6Seaside$1,511,219-1.7%
7Southwood Sunray$1,434,231+2.7%
8Verdi Estates$1,422,333-3.6%
9Southwood Riviera$1,417,892+0.0%
10Belmar North$1,395,729-1.7%
11Hillside$1,392,724+0.4%
12Southwood$1,384,869+1.3%
13West Torrance$1,375,567+3.8%
14Torrance Heights Civic$1,314,313-2.9%
15South Bayport$1,297,950-3.9%
16Park Plaza$1,290,369-0.6%
17Walteria$1,254,601+2.3%
18Southeast Torrance$1,241,202+1.7%
19Madrona$1,221,513+1.0%
20Delthome$1,200,365+0.1%
21La Terraza$1,089,185-4.2%
22Northeast Torrance$1,022,798+1.6%
23Chatelaine$1,011,727-1.2%
24Northwest Torrance$997,063+2.6%

See the full neighborhood ranking →

Cities like Torrance

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 Torrance listings on the major real-estate sites.

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

Local news & community

Updated 2026-05-21 from Google News + Reddit RSS. Headlines link to original sources.

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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