Norwalk, California

Area Profile

99,789 residents. Public schools, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Norwalk, in Los Angeles County.

47out of 100
Area Score
Bottom 8% of 2,944 published profiles

How we calculate this

How this area ranks
Opportunity3347th of 3,904 published cities38
Growth2700th of 2,973 published cities22
Housing affordability3682nd of 4,223 published cities53
ClimateTop 4% of 4,223 published cities100
Physical resilience3903rd of 4,182 published cities11
AccessTop 3% of 4,226 published cities100
Economic stabilityTop 38% of 4,226 published cities66
The quick read

Employment conditions sit below most comparable published city profiles: unemployment is 5.2% and the Opportunity signal places Norwalk in the bottom 14%.

Residential permitting has slowed: 43 units authorized over the past twelve months, 80% below the prior year.

Physical-risk exposure is above the national median, driven mainly by earthquake, inland flooding and wildfire.

At a glance

Population
99,789
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$100,085
Top 19% nationally
Density
10,280/sq mi
9.7 sq mi of land
Median age
37.3
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Los Angeles County
California
Metro area
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA
Nearest major airport
LGB
7 mi · Long Beach (Daugherty Fld)
Median home value
$644,700
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 5.2% is lower than 19% of the 3,904 measured US cities.

Employment fell 1.6% over the past year, to 46,122 employed residents.

MetricValueCompared with peersSource period
Median household income ±$5,094$100,085Top 19%2024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$1,313$33,409Bottom 49%2024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate9.3%Bottom 43%2024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute32.2 minTop 25%2024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher21.3%Top 48%2024 ACS 5-Year
Employment46,122Bottom 49%June 2026
Employment change (3 years)-2.8%Bottom 12%June 2026
Employment change (year over year)-1.6%Bottom 30%June 2026
Labor force48,656Bottom 49%June 2026
Labor force participation64.2%Top 37%2024 ACS 5-Year
Mean annual wage$77,270Top 24%2025 OEWS
Median annual wage$55,850Top 33%2025 OEWS
Unemployment change (year over year)-0.5%Bottom 17%June 2026
Unemployment rate5.2%Top 19%June 2026
Unemployment rate
2021/062022/032022/122023/092024/062025/032025/102026/06114.3
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 5.2% in June 2026. A break in the line is a month the Bureau of Labor Statistics did not publish for this area — it is left empty rather than estimated.
Median household income, successive ACS releases
2021202220232024100k83k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $100,085 in the 2024 ACS 5-Year. Consecutive releases share four years of sample, so AreaProfile shows them as a record of successive estimates and does not compute a year-over-year change from them.
Largest occupations — Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA
OccupationPeople employedMedian annual wage
Home Health and Personal Care Aides385,530$34,320
Fast Food and Counter Workers160,270$42,110
Retail Salespersons130,650$37,700
Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand120,720$42,390
Office Clerks, General112,270$48,100
Cashiers109,940$36,980

Occupational employment and wages are published for metropolitan areas rather than for individual cities or ZIP areas, so these describe the wider labor market this location sits in. 2025 OEWS, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

There are 22.5 students for every full-time teacher, more than in most measured places.

Public schools
22
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
22.5
across all schools here
Math proficiency
Reading proficiency
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Norwalk HighNorwalk-La Mirada Unified2,07523.9
Los Alisos MiddleNorwalk-La Mirada Unified92027.1
John H. Glenn HighNorwalk-La Mirada Unified88218.8
Corvallis MiddleNorwalk-La Mirada Unified66324.6
John Dolland ElementaryNorwalk-La Mirada Unified58622.5
Julia B. Morrison ElementaryNorwalk-La Mirada Unified54823.8
Thomas B. Moffitt ElementaryNorwalk-La Mirada Unified50923.1
Lakeside MiddleLittle Lake City Elementary50919.6
Nettie L. Waite MiddleNorwalk-La Mirada Unified46220.1
Loretta Lampton ElementaryNorwalk-La Mirada Unified40622.6
Studebaker ElementaryLittle Lake City Elementary39421.9
Anna M. Glazier ElementaryNorwalk-La Mirada Unified38824.3

77.9% of students here are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. That describes the circumstances families arrive with rather than how the schools perform, which is why AreaProfile shows it and does not score it.

Public schools only, from the NCES Common Core of Data. Schools are placed by ZIP code, so this is which schools are in this place rather than which one a particular address is zoned for — district boundaries do not follow municipal ones, and enrollment zones change. Fully virtual schools are excluded: they enroll students from across the state while reporting one administrative address, and counting them here would describe a school population this place does not have. The assessment covers grades 3 through 8, so a high school shows no proficiency figure — a dash in those columns means the test was not given at that school, not that it performed badly. Proficiency is measured against California’s own standard, so it compares cleanly within the state and only broadly against other states; AreaProfile therefore ranks it within state. The directory is current, while the proficiency figures are from the last school year with national coverage before the pandemic interrupted testing.

Housing & affordability

How it’s calculated →

Median rent of $2,090 takes 25% of median household income, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened.

A median home costs 6.4 times median household income here, well above the historic benchmark, at a level conventionally described as seriously unaffordable.

Rent as a share of income
25.1%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
6.4×
median home value ÷ median income
Median gross rent
$2,090
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$644,700
2024 ACS 5-Year
MetricValueCompared with peersSource period
Home price to income6.44Top 7%2024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate68.3%Bottom 35%2024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±66327,704Top 2%2024 ACS 5-Year
Median gross rent ±$57$2,090Top 7%2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$8,161$644,700Top 7%2024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income25.1%Top 17%2024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate1.8%Bottom 15%2024 ACS 5-Year

Both affordability measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with, so the comparison is like for like. They describe housing cost against local earnings and are not a cost-of-living index — transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not included, and a place can look affordable here and still be expensive to live in for reasons this does not capture.

Growth & development

How it’s calculated →
Development Momentum
22/ 100
Ranks 2700 of 2,973 published city profiles
Permitting is increasing, measured from 2020 to 2025.

An AreaProfile calculation combining permit volume per resident, its direction over one and three years, population change and employment growth. Permit volume alone is not the measure.

Population has fallen 4% since 2020, reaching 98,230 in 2024.

Permitting has turned upward after moving the other way the year before.

New construction is predominantly single-family: only 0% of permitted units are in buildings of five or more homes.

At 0.4 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is below the median for measured US cities.

Units permitted
43
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
0.4
Bottom 19% nationally
Year over year
−80%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
0.0%
units in 5+ unit buildings
Population, annual estimates
20202021202220232024102k98k
Census Population Estimates Program, July 1 of each year. These annual estimates are designed for year-over-year comparison, unlike the ACS five-year figure shown as this profile's population.
Housing units permitted per year
2020202120222023202420252243.0
Annual totals from the Census Building Permits Survey. Permitting in 2025 was higher than 2020 (+3633%).

Weather & climate

12 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 84°F and January a low of 46°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 11.9 inches.

30°50°70°90°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station FULLERTON MUNI AP, 6.5 miles from this location.
Precipitation
JFMAMJJASOND3.0"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
Annual precipitation11.9"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low46°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high84°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months121991-2020 Normals
Seasonal temperature swing20°F1991-2020 Normals

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. They describe what a typical year looks like rather than what the weather is doing today.

Physical risk

11 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are earthquake, inland flooding and wildfire.

Inland floodingHigh
EarthquakeHigh
WildfireModerate

Low or minimal exposure: heat wave, landslide, tornado, lightning, hail, avalanche, coastal flooding, strong wind, winter weather, tsunami, drought, cold wave.

Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). FEMA publishes at county level. City values are the population-weighted mean of the counties the city overlaps, using AreaProfile place-to-county land-area weights. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

These are deaths, not offences. AreaProfile does not publish reported crime, and this is not a substitute for it — it says nothing about burglary, theft or assault.

Los Angeles County records 4.7 homicide deaths per 100,000 residents a year, near the middle of counties measured. The CDC does not publish this below county level.

Firearm deaths of all intents run at 6.3 per 100,000 — more than the homicide rate, because nationally most firearm deaths are suicides.

Drug overdose deaths run at 17.8 per 100,000 residents in Los Angeles County.

Homicide
4.7
per 100,000 residents · under 10 deaths
Firearm deaths, all intents
6.3
per 100,000 residents · under 10 deaths
Drug overdose
17.8
per 100,000 residents · under 10 deaths
Suicide
8.1
per 100,000 residents · under 10 deaths

Firearm deaths count every intent together, and nationally the majority are suicides rather than homicides. The two columns overlap and should not be added.

Age-adjusted rates from provisional death certificate records, published by the CDC for Los Angeles County as a whole — these rates are not published below county level. A county can hold both a dense city centre and a suburb whose experience of it is nothing alike, so this describes the county around Norwalk rather than Norwalk itself. That is why AreaProfile shows these figures and does not put them in the Area Score. Where fewer than ten deaths were recorded the count is suppressed at source, and a rate built on single figures moves sharply between releases. What this measure has that reported crime does not: a death certificate is filed whether or not the local police agency submitted a return that year, so the figures stay comparable between places and over time.

What this profile does not cover

Three things people look for are missing from every AreaProfile page, and each is missing for a reason rather than by oversight. The Area Score is calculated without them and the weighting is documented on the methodology page.

Reported crime
The FBI’s Crime Data Explorer is the only source for reported offences with national coverage and a published method, and it requires an API key AreaProfile does not hold. Arrest counts, news volume and commercial “safety scores” are not substituted in the meantime. What is published above under Safety is a different measurement — deaths rather than offences, from death certificates rather than police returns — and it covers no property crime at all.
Taxes
No tax dataset has met the source admission test for coverage, transparent methodology and update cadence. Nothing here is individualized tax advice.
Full cost of living
No public source publishes one with national coverage and a documented method. Housing affordability above is computed from published rent, price and income, and excludes transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes — commuting cost in particular tends to offset suburban housing savings.

Access

7 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest 7 miles away.

AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Long Beach (Daugherty Fld)LGB7 mi10,000 ft
Los Angeles IntlLAX19 mi12,923 ft
Ontario IntlONT29 mi12,197 ft

Airport identity, position and runway data come from the FAA. “Major airport” is an AreaProfile classification — a public-use civil airport with a paved runway of at least 8,000 feet — not an FAA hub designation. Distances are straight-line, not driving distance.

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Area Score
47
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Other cities in Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA

Same metropolitan area, measured the same way
CityCountyPopulationArea ScoreCompare
Los AngelesLos Angeles County3,857,26348vs Norwalk
Long BeachLos Angeles County455,54846vs Norwalk
AnaheimOrange County344,52146vs Norwalk
Santa AnaOrange County312,53453vs Norwalk
IrvineOrange County311,69055vs Norwalk
Santa ClaritaLos Angeles County230,22149vs Norwalk
Huntington BeachOrange County195,24052vs Norwalk
GlendaleLos Angeles County190,74844vs Norwalk
Garden GroveOrange County170,96454vs Norwalk
LancasterLos Angeles County169,16938vs Norwalk
PalmdaleLos Angeles County164,63441vs Norwalk
PomonaLos Angeles County147,94344vs Norwalk

Every city here is measured on the same scale from the same source releases, so the comparison is like for like. A higher Area Score reflects AreaProfile’s standardized weighting rather than a judgment about which is the better place to live.

Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource periodUpdated
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle28-day NASR cycle
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)Periodic dataset versions (v1.20.0 current)
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 NormalsEvery ten years (next release follows the 2001–2030 period)
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
June 2026Monthly
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
2025 OEWSAnnual (spring release)
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimateAnnual (vintage released each spring)
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026Monthly, roughly three weeks after the reference month
Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-YearAnnual (5-year estimates released each December)
safetyU.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics
Provisional county-level mortality by intent
April, 2025 to March, 2026Quarterly, with a rolling twelve-month window alongside complete calendar years
schoolsU.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics
Common Core of Data and EDFacts assessments
2024-25 school yearDirectory annually; assessment results as EDFacts releases them

Profile recalculated August 30, 2026. Recalculation is not the same as new source data — each figure above shows the period its source actually covers. Read the full methodology or browse every source.

ZIP codes in Norwalk

1 published ZIP profiles
ZIPPopulationMedian household incomeArea Score
9065099,900$100,08546