2.62/5
1,672 reviews
Photo by Sebastian Banasiewcz via Unsplash

Cost of Living in Los Angeles, CA

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tax

insane

hollywood

nice

suggest

neighborhoods

bus

long

gold

Los Angeles offers some of the best outdoor experiences, especially during the summer. The weather is great, and there’s no shortage of natural beauty like beaches, hills, and parks. The city's size means there’s always something new to explore, and the general vibe—especially near the coast—can be energizing and fun. Places like The Valley may offer a quieter, more pleasant stay compared to more hyped areas like Hollywood, which was noted for being dirty and underwhelming.

However, several issues came up repeatedly. The city is highly expensive; things like taxes, daily services, and rentals can cost significantly more than expected, often without matching quality. Public transportation, especially buses, is unreliable, making renting a car almost necessary. The massive size of the city also makes commuting difficult, compounded by heavy traffic.

Another common concern was the social atmosphere. Making meaningful connections seems challenging, with many reviewers highlighting a distant or unfriendly culture, especially toward foreigners. The strict regulations and taxes also make it tough for startups and small business owners. Despite these drawbacks, some still found the experience worthwhile short term and would consider returning.

AI-generated summary of reviews
4 months ago

It's obscenely expensive for low quality service with kinda mean people. Not nice. The regulations and taxes here are insane too. You pay a neighbourhood tax, district tax, city tax, county tax and then state tax on every payment you make!

The traffic here is insane too. And just getting from place to place is difficult because city is so gigantic.

We talked to our hotel's manager here and he struggles a lot with the insane amount of rules California tells him to follow. It makes it hard to start or run a business here. A lot like Europe.

I understand so many people from Los Angeles left to Austin and Miami.

1 year ago

I spent 4 months working here during summertime. It's one of the best summers I have ever had in my life. The city is just amazing and offers dozens of outdoor activities. There are so many different places such as parks, lakes, hills, mountains, beaches, etc. Also, you can feel the Californication vibe on every step.

I lived in Hollywood and I would avoid this place at any cost. It's just too overrated and won't meet your expectations. Hollywood (esp. West Hollywood) is a big pile of dirtiness with people wandering around. I'd suggest looking for smaller neighborhoods preferably in The Valley. That area is just lovely. Also, anything close to Santa Monica is overwhelming yet too costly.

One of the things I also didn't like was the lack of cultural influence and this is for sure not a city that will offer nice architecture. Another thing I disliked was the huge social distancing towards foreigners which is most likely part of the American culture. If you were to make deeper friendships here, this is not a place to go. You will end up getting ignored and in the worst case, people will stop any contact with you.

Also, the public transport of LA is not reliable especially if you use bus transportation. Get ready to wait a long turn before you get to a bus. I suggest either using the metro or renting a car which is probably the best option in LA. Otherwise, get prepared for long walks throughout your place of stay.

With all of the above said, I will for sure return to this city again and can't say I'm not missing it. It's one of those places where you always want to get back, at least temporarily :D

4 years ago

Nothing does a better job of explaining LA’s beautiful diversity and different neighborhoods than the documentary about the late Jonathan Gold, our city’s greatest amabassador and the only food critic to ever win a Pulitzer Prize. It is called, “City of Gold” and if you want to know LA, just watch this film. Trailer link: https://youtu.be/DmKTRDfz1zM

7 years ago

✅ Beautiful nature and outdoor activities

✅ Good weather

✅ Fast internet

✅ Lots of fun stuff to do

✅ Warm all year round

✅ Good air quality on average

✅ Many Nomads.com members here all year round

✅ Spacious and not crowded

✅ Very easy to do business

✅ High quality of education

✅ Great hospitals

✅ Roads are very safe

✅ Great freedom of speech

✅ Democratic

✅ Everyone speaks English

✅ Safe for women

✅ Family friendly

✅ Very friendly to LGBTQ+

✅ Not many people smoke tobacco

✅ (Medical) marijuana MAY be legal, unenforced or decriminalized (always double check this)

❌ High cost of living

❌ Unreliable public transportation

❌ Unfriendly social atmosphere

❌ Traffic congestion

❌ Strict regulations

❌ Extremely expensive

❌ Not very safe

❌ Very damp now

❌ Nomads.com members didn't like going here

❌ Difficult to make friends

❌ High alcohol consumption

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

Feels (median)

18°C / 64°F cool

19°C / 66°F mild

21°C / 70°F mild

25°C / 77°F warm

31°C / 88°F hot

32°C / 90°F hot

28°C / 82°F warm

23°C / 73°F mild

15°C / 59°F cool

Real (median)

18°C / 64°F
cool

19°C / 65°F
mild

21°C / 70°F
mild

25°C / 77°F
warm

28°C / 82°F
very warm

29°C / 84°F
very warm

26°C / 79°F
warm

23°C / 73°F
mild

15°C / 59°F
cool

Humidity

nice
46%

nice
48%

nice
60%

nice
68%

nice
73%

nice
74%

sweaty
71%

nice
63%

nice
73%

nice
54%

nice
70%

Most common

☀️ Clear

Rain

rainy
58mm

dry
4mm

dry
36mm

dry
8mm

dry
10mm

dry
3mm

dry
2mm

dry
0mm

dry
18mm

dry
0mm

rainy
53mm

Cloud

pockets
16%

pockets
14%

pockets
18%

pockets
24%

pockets
19%

pockets
17%

pockets
14%

pockets
15%

clear
8%

pockets
20%

pockets
26%

Air quality

clean
46 US AQI

clean
35 US AQI

clean
40 US AQI

clean
49 US AQI

okay
50 US AQI

okay
59 US AQI

okay
61 US AQI

okay
60 US AQI

okay
56 US AQI

okay
55 US AQI

okay
52 US AQI

clean
46 US AQI

Sun

seek shade
3 UVI

seek shade
5 UVI

avoid sun
6 UVI

avoid sun
8 UVI

avoid sun
10 UVI

avoid sun
8 UVI

seek shade
5 UVI

seek shade
4 UVI

seek shade
3 UVI

Remote workers

2,240 people

3,113 people

2,524 people

2,092 people

2,638 people

2,037 people

2,317 people

2,077 people

2,940 people

2,771 people

2,418 people

2,373 people

Green is good. Red is bad. Values shown are the medians of all daily highs in a month based on past few years, not necessarily current numbers. Remote worker count is estimated based on the total amount of trips logged by Nomads.com members.

If you'd like to filter destinations based on their climate, try Nomads.com's Climate Finder

Based on Los Angeles's cost of living, here's selected remote jobs that would cover your costs:

Help pick the best photos for Los Angeles and improve this page's look by tappingclicking on them and the site saves your feedback Vote photos

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29pts

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39pts

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Newport Beach, CA

United States

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😳 Extremely expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🚀 Super fast

👍 Liked great

👮 Safety mediocre

Tap to open

☀️ Feels 19° 66° 18° 65°

🚕2h

$7,158 / mo

61 Mbps

Palmdale, CA

United States

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 🧐 Very expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🚀 Super fast

👍 Liked very bad

👮 Safety mediocre

Tap to open

☀️ Feels 15° 59° 15° 59°

🚕2h

$4,195 / mo

62 Mbps

Riverside, CA

United States

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 🧐 Pricey

📡 InternetWiFi 🚀 Super fast

👍 Liked very bad

👮 Safety bad

Tap to open

☀️ Feels 18° 64° 18° 64°

🚕2h

$3,980 / mo

41 Mbps

Lancaster, CA

United States

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 🧐 Pricey

📡 InternetWiFi 🚀 Super fast

👍 Liked very bad

👮 Safety mediocre

Tap to open

☀️ Feels 15° 59° 15° 59°

🚕2h

$3,611 / mo

53 Mbps

Oxnard, CA

United States

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 🧐 Pricey

📡 InternetWiFi 🚀 Super fast

👍 Liked great

👮 Safety mediocre

Tap to open

☀️ Feels 17° 63° 16° 62°

🚕3h

$3,999 / mo

65 Mbps

San Clemente, CA

United States

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😳 Extremely expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🚀 Super fast

👍 Liked very bad

👮 Safety mediocre

Tap to open

☀️ Feels 18° 64° 18° 64°

🚕3h

$8,667 / mo

62 Mbps

Hesperia, CA

United States

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 🧐 Pricey

📡 InternetWiFi 🚀 Super fast

👍 Liked very bad

👮 Safety mediocre

Tap to open

☀️ Feels 14° 57° 14° 56°

🚕3h

$3,521 / mo

56 Mbps

Victorville, CA

United States

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 🧐 Pricey

📡 InternetWiFi 🚀 Super fast

👍 Liked very bad

👮 Safety mediocre

Tap to open

☀️ Feels 14° 57° 14° 58°

🚕3h

$3,566 / mo

86 Mbps

Apple Valley, CA

United States

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 🧐 Pricey

📡 InternetWiFi 🚀 Super fast

👍 Liked very bad

👮 Safety mediocre

Tap to open

☀️ Feels 14° 57° 14° 57°

🚕4h

$3,711 / mo

59 Mbps

Murrieta, CA

United States

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 🧐 Very expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🚀 Super fast

👍 Liked very bad

👮 Safety mediocre

Tap to open

☀️ Feels 18° 64° 17° 62°

🚕4h

$4,550 / mo

65 Mbps

Temecula, CA

United States

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 🧐 Very expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🚀 Super fast

👍 Liked very bad

👮 Safety mediocre

Tap to open

☀️ Feels 18° 64° 17° 62°

🚕4h

$4,603 / mo

51 Mbps

Hemet, CA

United States

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 🧐 Very expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🚀 Super fast

👍 Liked very bad

👮 Safety mediocre

Tap to open

☀️ Feels 17° 63° 17° 62°

✈️10min

$4,092 / mo

94 Mbps

San Francisco, CA

United States

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😳 Extremely expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🚀 Super fast

👍 Liked bad

👮 Safety bad

Tap to open

☀️ Feels 18° 64° 17° 63°

✈️45min

$5,578 / mo

80 Mbps

New York City, NY

United States

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😳 Extremely expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🚀 Super fast

👍 Liked good

👮 Safety mediocre

Tap to open

🌥 Feels 16° 61° 16° 62°

✈️5h

$7,102 / mo

24 Mbps

London

United Kingdom

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😳 Extremely expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🚀 Super fast

👍 Liked mediocre

👮 Safety mediocre

Tap to open

🌥 Feels 16° 61° 16° 60° AQI 34

✈️12h

$5,764 / mo

23 Mbps

Amsterdam

Netherlands

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😳 Extremely expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🚀 Super fast

👍 Liked mediocre

👮 Safety good

Tap to open

🌦 Feels 14° 57° 14° 57° AQI 19

✈️12h

$5,549 / mo

19 Mbps

Bangkok

Thailand

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😙 Affordable

📡 InternetWiFi 🚀 Super fast

👍 Liked mediocre

👮 Safety good

Tap to open

🌦 Feels 41° 106° 31° 87° 🥵 AQI 55 😷

✈️18h

$1,563 / mo

24 Mbps

Miami, FL

United States

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😳 Extremely expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🚀 Super fast

👍 Liked good

👮 Safety bad

Tap to open

🌧 Feels 30° 86° 27° 81°

✈️5h

$5,570 / mo

35 Mbps

Chicago, IL

United States

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 🧐 Very expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🚀 Super fast

👍 Liked great

👮 Safety mediocre

Tap to open

🌤 Feels 16° 61° 16° 60° AQI 22

✈️4h

$4,602 / mo

72 Mbps

Lisbon

Portugal

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 🧐 Pricey

📡 InternetWiFi 🚀 Super fast

👍 Liked bad

👮 Safety good

Tap to open

🌥 Feels 25° 77° 25° 77° AQI 59 😷

✈️12h

$3,866 / mo

28 Mbps

Barcelona

Spain

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 🧐 Very expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🚀 Super fast

👍 Liked very bad

👮 Safety good

Tap to open

🌦 Feels 21° 70° 20° 68° AQI 57 😷

✈️13h

$4,702 / mo

30 Mbps

Mexico City

Mexico

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😙 Affordable

📡 InternetWiFi 🚀 Super fast

👍 Liked good

👮 Safety bad

Tap to open

🌦 Feels 20° 68° 19° 66° AQI 59 😷

✈️3h

$2,056 / mo

13 Mbps

Seattle, WA

United States

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😳 Extremely expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🚀 Super fast

👍 Liked great

👮 Safety mediocre

Tap to open

☀️ Feels 14° 57° 14° 57°

✈️2h

$5,447 / mo

90 Mbps

Tokyo

Japan

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 🧐 Pricey

📡 InternetWiFi 🚀 Super fast

👍 Liked good

👮 Safety great

Tap to open

🌤 Feels 23° 73° 23° 73° AQI 46

✈️12h

$3,420 / mo

27 Mbps

Las Vegas, NV

United States

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 🧐 Very expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🚀 Super fast

👍 Liked good

👮 Safety bad

Tap to open

☀️ Feels 19° 66° 18° 65°

✈️29min

$4,407 / mo

🌇 Also went here481 people

San Francisco, CA

United States

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😳 Extremely expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🚀 Super fast

👍 Liked bad

👮 Safety bad

Tap to open

☀️ Feels 18° 64° 17° 63°

✈️45min

$5,578 / mo

🌇 Also went here744 people

Mexico City

Mexico

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😙 Affordable

📡 InternetWiFi 🚀 Super fast

👍 Liked good

👮 Safety bad

Tap to open

🌦 Feels 20° 68° 19° 66° AQI 59 😷

✈️3h

$2,056 / mo

🌇 Also went here477 people

Miami, FL

United States

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😳 Extremely expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🚀 Super fast

👍 Liked good

👮 Safety bad

Tap to open

🌧 Feels 30° 86° 27° 81°

✈️5h

$5,570 / mo

🌇 Also went here406 people

New York City, NY

United States

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😳 Extremely expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🚀 Super fast

👍 Liked good

👮 Safety mediocre

Tap to open

🌥 Feels 16° 61° 16° 62°

✈️5h

$7,102 / mo

🌇 Also went here852 people

London

United Kingdom

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😳 Extremely expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🚀 Super fast

👍 Liked mediocre

👮 Safety mediocre

Tap to open

🌥 Feels 16° 61° 16° 60° AQI 34

✈️12h

$5,764 / mo

🌇 Also went here722 people

Tokyo

Japan

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 🧐 Pricey

📡 InternetWiFi 🚀 Super fast

👍 Liked good

👮 Safety great

Tap to open

🌤 Feels 23° 73° 23° 73° AQI 46

✈️12h

$3,420 / mo

🌇 Also went here523 people

Amsterdam

Netherlands

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😳 Extremely expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🚀 Super fast

👍 Liked mediocre

👮 Safety good

Tap to open

🌦 Feels 14° 57° 14° 57° AQI 19

✈️12h

$5,549 / mo

🌇 Also went here554 people

Paris

France

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😳 Extremely expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🚀 Super fast

👍 Liked bad

👮 Safety mediocre

Tap to open

☀️ Feels 15° 59° 15° 60° AQI 41

✈️12h

$5,421 / mo

🌇 Also went here649 people

Lisbon

Portugal

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 🧐 Pricey

📡 InternetWiFi 🚀 Super fast

👍 Liked bad

👮 Safety good

Tap to open

🌥 Feels 25° 77° 25° 77° AQI 59 😷

✈️12h

$3,866 / mo

🌇 Also went here552 people

Berlin

Germany

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 🧐 Very expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🚀 Super fast

👍 Liked very bad

👮 Safety good

Tap to open

🌤 Feels 12° 54° 13° 56° AQI 34

✈️12h

$4,103 / mo

🌇 Also went here512 people

Barcelona

Spain

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 🧐 Very expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🚀 Super fast

👍 Liked very bad

👮 Safety good

Tap to open

🌦 Feels 21° 70° 20° 68° AQI 57 😷

✈️13h

$4,702 / mo

🌇 Also went here629 people

Rome

Italy

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 🧐 Very expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🚀 Super fast

👍 Liked mediocre

👮 Safety good

Tap to open

🌦 Feels 21° 70° 21° 70°

✈️14h

$4,971 / mo

🌇 Also went here435 people

Bangkok

Thailand

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😙 Affordable

📡 InternetWiFi 🚀 Super fast

👍 Liked mediocre

👮 Safety good

Tap to open

🌦 Feels 41° 106° 31° 87° 🥵 AQI 55 😷

✈️18h

$1,563 / mo

🌇 Also went here634 people

Singapore

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 🧐 Very expensive

📡 InternetWiFi 🚀 Super fast

👍 Liked mediocre

👮 Safety great

Tap to open

🌧 Feels 33° 91° 29° 84°

✈️19h

$4,327 / mo

🌇 Also went here439 people

1,600 remote workers in Los Angeles now, of which 7+ members checked in (some members are set to private)

Members who will be here soon

Members who have been here

Values shown are estimated visits by traveling remote workers based on the total amount of trips logged by Nomads.com members. Visits to a place are only counted once per year per user, even if they visit more in that year. Visits are also normalized by overall trips added per month on the site, so if site usage goes up or down it does not affect trends. Not all digital nomads are on Nomads.com, and not all Nomads.com members log their trips. So the data is only indicative.

The chart below shows visitors by nationality normalized for population size. This means we take all trips logged on Nomads.com, check which country of origin the user is from, then divide that total visit count by the country of origin's population. If we didn't, it'd just show the big countries like US, Brazil and India always on top. Instead, this shows which nationalities worldwide proportionally visit more or less, which is more useful.

⭐️ Total score	2.62/5 (Rank #361) 1672 reviews
❤️ Liked by members	👍4 liked it 👎2 disliked it
👍 Quality of life score	Good
👶 Family score	Good
🎒 Community score	Good
💵 Cost	😳 Extremely expensive: $5,024 / mo
📡 Internet	🚀 Super fast: 72 Mbps (avg)
😝 Fun	Great
⛅️ Temperature (now)	🥶 A bit cold: 17°C63°F (feels 17°C63°F)
💦 Humidity (now)	💦 Damp: 78%
❄️ % of buildings with AC	😍 Very high: 90%
💨 Air quality (now)	🌱 Good: 35 US AQI
💨 Air quality (annual)	🌱 Good: 56 US AQI
👌 Safety	Okay
👩 Safe for women	Okay
🌈 Safe for LGBTQ+	Great
🤮 Food safety*	Great
👮‍♀️ Lack of crime*	Okay
🤝 Lack of racism*	Good
🎓 Education level*	High
⚡️ Power grid	Great
🌊 Vulnerability to climate change	Good
💰 Income level*	Very high: $4,817 / mo
🙊 English speaking*	Great
😤 People density	🧘‍♀️ Low density: 3k ppl/km² (1 per 17x17m)
🚶 Walkability	Great
🚦 Traffic safety*	Okay
✈️ Airline scores*	Good
🧳 Lost luggage*	Great
🏥 Hospitals	Great
😄 Happiness*	Bad
🍸 Nightlife	Great
📶 Free WiFi in city	Great
🖥 Places to work from	Great
❄️ A/C or heating	Great
😁 Friendly to foreigners	Great
🗯 Freedom of speech*	Good
🎅 Startup Score	Good

🌍 Continent	North America
🚩 Country	United States
🗓️ Average trip length	8 days
📡 Internet speed (avg)	72 Mbps
⛅️ Weather (now)	☀️ 17°C 63°F + 💦 Damp (78%) = feels 17°C 63°F
💨 Air quality (now)	👍 35 US AQI 🍃 OK
💨 Air quality (annual avg)	👎😷 56 US AQI
🔌 Power	115V 60Hz
🧔 Best neighborhood to stay	Silver Lake
🚀 Upcoming neighborhood	Central-Alameda
🚕 Best taxi app*	Uber
🚑 Travel medical insurance	Safetywing
💸 Tipping	Yes, 15%
💳 Cashless	💳 Yes, cards OK almost everywhere
💻 Best coworking space	Blank Spaces
🚰 Tap water	👌 Yes, safe to drink
♻️ Return rate	👍14% of visitors return
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Population	4,000,000 people
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 GDP per capita*	$57,808 / year
😤 Population density	🧘‍♀️ not busy: 17x17m (289m²) per person
👫 Gender ratio (population)	👨 49% 👱‍♀️ 51%
👫 Gender ratio (young adults)	👨 52% 👱‍♀️ 48%
👫 Gender ratio (nomads)	👨 80% 👱‍♀️ 20%
🏞 Foreign land ownership allowed	Yes
⛪️ Religious government	Non-religious
💻 Online electronics shop	Amazon
🏠 Apartment listings	Craigslist
✈️ Best short-haul air carrier	Southwest
✈️ Best int'l air carrier	Southwest

💵 Cost of living for nomad	$5,024 / month
💵 Cost of living for expat	$3,370 / month
💵 Cost of living for family	$8,617 / month
💵 Cost of living for local	$2,462 / month
🏨 Hotel (median price)	$3,544 / month
🏡 Airbnb (median price)	$2,661 / month
🏠 1br studio rent in center	$2,080 / month
🏠 Median home price	$900,000
🏨 Hotel (median price)	$166 / night
🏠 Airbnb (median price)	$87 / night
🏢 Coworking hot desk	$298 / month
🍛 Dinner	$19
🥤 Coca-Cola (0.3L)	$2
🍺 Beer in cafe (0.5L)	$7
☕️ Coffee in cafe	$5
👩‍🏫 International school	$22,930 / year
📱 Mobile data (~10GB)	$9 / month
🚕 Taxi price (avg trip ~3km/2mi)	$6 / trip
💰 Estimated tax on $50,000	$12,352
💰 Estimated tax on $100,000	$30,278
💰 Estimated tax on $250,000	$71,127