About 21% of Long Beach workers commute 45 minutes or more, so vehicle costs weigh on many household budgets. If a personal loan is on your list, compare total cost rather than monthly payment, check the written APR and fees, and make sure the lender is licensed in California before sharing details.
On this page
- Long Beach at a glance
- How people in Long Beach earn a living
- Long Beach households and housing
- Long Beach labor market
- Running the numbers for Long Beach
- What this means for a Long Beach loan
- How Long Beach compares
- Nearby places compared with Long Beach
- Long Beach in brief
- A typical Long Beach scenario
- Steps to take first in Long Beach
- Other guides in the area
- Frequently asked questions
Long Beach at a glance
All figures here are ACS 2020 to 2024 five-year estimates for the city of Long Beach. They are estimates with margins of error, and they say nothing about any one household.
How people in Long Beach earn a living
Three sectors dominate the Long Beach workforce in the ACS: education and health care (24% of workers), professional, scientific and administrative services (14%) and arts, entertainment, lodging and food service (11%). What sets Long Beach apart is arts, entertainment, lodging and food service, at 11% of workers where the typical place in our set has 9%. Steady salaried employers make verification simple. Seasonal, commission or contract work means gathering bank statements and tax returns first.
At the top of the scale, 15% of Long Beach households earn $200,000 or more; at the bottom, 20% earn under $35,000. Across our U.S. city set, the typical place sits at 20% under $35,000 and 39% at $100,000 or more. The Gini index for the area is 0.46, on a scale where higher means a wider gap.
Long Beach households and housing
The median resident of Long Beach is 37.1 years old, and 36% of adults 25 and older hold a bachelor's degree or more. The U.S. city medians are 37.2 years and 37% with a degree, so Long Beach skews close to the typical age and near the middle on schooling.
The housing stock in Long Beach breaks down as 40% detached houses, 40% apartments in larger buildings and 1% mobile homes, per the ACS.
Long Beach labor market
Federal labor data show unemployment of 4.5% in Los Angeles County for September 2026 (preliminary, not seasonally adjusted), down 1.4 points from 5.9% a year earlier. Census survey data put the Long Beach rate at 6.5% on a 2020 to 2024 average.
Running the numbers for Long Beach
Monthly math for a typical Long Beach household: $7,286 before taxes, from a median income of $87,430. After the median rent of $1,871 (26% of income), the 30% yardstick of $2,186 is not reached. If a lender capped total monthly debt at 36% of gross income, a common benchmark, the median household's ceiling would be about $2,623 a month. Buying the median home would take about 9.2 years of median income. Taxes, insurance, transport and food come out of the same paycheck, so the room left over is smaller than the percentages suggest.
What this means for a Long Beach loan
Long Beach has a high price-to-income gap: a median home value of $806,600 against a median household income of $87,430 (a ratio of about 9.2). When prices run ahead of incomes, households often lean on credit for the costs around a home.
Long Beach skews toward renting (41% owners), lower than most of the U.S. city places we cover. For them, moving costs, deposits and consolidating card balances are common reasons, and there is no equity to tap.
The median home in Long Beach dates from 1959, older than in most of the 784 U.S. city places we cover. Aging systems are a predictable source of large, unplanned bills, so a repair fund beats a loan, but when the fund is empty a fixed-term loan is a reasonable tool.
How Long Beach compares
In the 784 U.S. city places in our dataset, Long Beach has a median household income of $87,430 (rank 316 of 784), a median gross rent of $1,871 (rank 175 of 784), and a median home value of $806,600 (rank 56 of 784). Rankings shift with every Census release.
For scale, look at two California places of similar size: Oakland ($101,600 income, $1,979 rent), where Long Beach runs 14% below on income and 5% below on rent and Bakersfield ($80,540 income, $1,472 rent), where Long Beach runs 9% above on income and 27% above on rent. Compare the same four numbers on every offer wherever you live.
Nearby places compared with Long Beach
Distances are straight-line from the center of Long Beach. The last column shows how each place's median rent differs from Long Beach's $1,871.
| Community | Distance | Population | Household income (median) | Median rent | Rent vs Long Beach |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Signal Hill | 2 mi | 11,468 | $113,298 | $1,851 | -$20 |
| Rossmoor | 5 mi | 11,532 | $211,597 | $3,501 | +$1,630 |
| Lakewood | 5 mi | 79,850 | $119,177 | $2,347 | +$476 |
| Seal Beach | 6 mi | 24,722 | $85,964 | $2,649 | +$778 |
| Carson | 6 mi | 92,871 | $108,703 | $1,956 | +$85 |
| Los Alamitos | 6 mi | 11,794 | $97,155 | $2,365 | +$494 |
| Hawaiian Gardens | 6 mi | 13,691 | $76,341 | $1,696 | -$175 |
| Bellflower | 8 mi | 76,819 | $78,722 | $1,830 | -$41 |
On income, Long Beach trails 5 of its 8 nearest neighbors; on rent, 3 of them are cheaper. The cheapest median rent here is Hawaiian Gardens's $1,696, the steepest is Rossmoor's $3,501, and Rossmoor leads on income at $211,597. If a move is part of the reason for borrowing, compare the rent gap with the loan payment before you sign.
Long Beach in brief
Long Beach is a Los Angeles County port city whose Port of Long Beach is one of the busiest container ports in the country. Port, logistics, health care and California State University, Long Beach are major employers.
A typical Long Beach scenario
Distribution and shift work in Long Beach often means irregular hours and overtime. Lenders verify what you actually earn, so keep recent pay stubs and base your loan size on typical earnings.
Steps to take first in Long Beach
- Look the lender up with your state's financial regulator, and know that the CFPB takes complaints too.
- Refuse any upfront fee. Real lenders take fees out of the loan or bill them later; the scam guide shows the common pitches.
- Compare three written offers by APR, fees and total cost, using the side-by-side calculator.
- Ask each lender for the same four numbers: amount financed, APR, fees and total repayment.
- Confirm there is no prepayment penalty, in writing, so you can clear the balance early.
Other guides in the area
- Personal loans in Torrance, CA
- Personal loans in Santa Monica, CA
- Personal loans in Pasadena, CA
- Personal loans in Carson, CA
- Personal loans in Irvine, CA
- Personal loans in Newport Beach, CA
Frequently asked questions
With Long Beach housing this expensive, how big a loan makes sense?
Start from what is left after housing. A $806,600 median home against $87,430 in median income means many budgets are already stretched, so borrow the least that solves the problem and check total cost, not just the monthly figure.
Can shift workers in Long Beach apply outside business hours?
Many lenders take online applications any time, but verification may need weekday calls or uploads. Ask about document upload and the expected funding timeline.
Is the fit check different for Long Beach residents?
No. Everyone answers the same questions and is screened on the same objective points: amount, credit range, income and payments. Lenders make their own decisions under fair-lending law.
Who handles lender complaints for Long Beach residents?
Two places cover most problems: the state regulator for California and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau online. Scam demands for an upfront fee go to ReportFraud.ftc.gov.