For decades, Los Angeles has been home to vibrant Black communities with deep historical and cultural roots. From Leimert Park’s jazz clubs to the affluent enclaves of View Park-Windsor Hills, Black Angelenos have built neighborhoods rich in tradition, identity, and community. However, rising housing costs, gentrification, and economic shifts have forced many to reconsider their place in the City of Angels, leading to a new migration pattern both within and beyond Los Angeles County.
The latest statistics reveal that nearly 80% of low-income households struggle with high rental costs, often forced to choose between stable housing and basic necessities. For many, homeownership in California remains out of reach.
In June 2022, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors launched the Los Angeles County Land Bank Pilot to combat displacement, particularly in communities where infrastructure investment risks pushing out low-income residents. The program focuses on preserving and creating affordable housing, with a strong emphasis on Black communities.
With $22 million from the American Rescue Plan Act and the County General Fund, the Land Bank Pilot aims to acquire underutilized lots in high-risk areas to create permanent affordable housing. By strategically securing land in vulnerable neighborhoods, the initiative seeks to stabilize communities and offer long-term affordable housing solutions.
Historically Black neighborhoods such as Leimert Park, Baldwin Hills, View Park-Windsor Hills, and the Crenshaw District have long served as cultural and economic hubs. Leimert Park remains the cultural heartbeat of Black L.A., known for its jazz performances, festivals, poetry readings, and the world’s longest-running hip-hop open mic. However, since 2015, as the average single-family home price in L.A. County surged nearly 90%, values in Leimert Park soared 132%, rising from $413,857 to an average of $960,708 and above by 2025.
Similarly, Baldwin Hills/View Park and Ladera Heights—longtime havens for Black professionals, artists, and celebrities—have seen home prices climb to between $1.2 million and $1.6 million, with rentals averaging $2,500 to $3,000 per month.
Even once more accessible neighborhoods for Black families—such as Vermont Knolls, West Adams, Manchester Square, Gramercy Park, and Hyde Park—have seen skyrocketing housing costs, making both homeownership and renting increasingly difficult.
This erosion has been ongoing for the last three decades. L.A. County’s Black population has dropped from nearly 20% in the 1970s to just 8% today, largely due to the relentless rise in housing costs. California is home to four of the five most expensive housing markets in the U.S., and Los Angeles remains one of the least affordable metropolitan areas in the nation. While government initiatives like the Land Bank Pilot aim to create more affordable housing, their impact has been limited, leaving many Black Angelenos searching for new options.
Inglewood and Carson—once strongholds of Black homeownership—have become increasingly unaffordable. In 2016, the average rent for a one-bedroom apartment in Inglewood was $1,100, according to Zumper, an apartment rental listing website. Today, that price has nearly doubled to $2,000 or more, particularly in newer developments. Zillow reports a median home price of $775,865 in Inglewood, but Janet Singleton of Coldwell Realty highlights a recent sale of a tiny, two-bedroom, 1,000-square-foot fixer in North Inglewood for $850,000—an outlier, she noted, but indicative of the market’s soaring prices.
Real estate agent Kasandra Kimberly of ITP Realty has observed home prices reaching as high as $1.2 million for single-family homes in Inglewood. “The homes below that price point aren’t turnkey. They need work, and the square footage is small, so that’s a challenge,” she explains.
Kimberly is currently showing a 1,400-square-foot, three-bedroom home in Carson, initially listed at $820,000 but now reduced to $790,000. Meanwhile, The Willows, a new development of two-story homes in Carson, features prices ranging from $950,000 to $1,007,900.
Many Black Angelenos have sought refuge in the San Fernando Valley, where neighborhoods like Arleta, San Fernando, Lakeview Terrace, and Panorama City still offer apartments for under $2,000. Areas such as Canoga Park, Lake Balboa, Mission Hills, North Hills, Sun Valley, Sylmar, Valley Glen, Winnetka, and Sunland offer rentals averaging under $2,200.
For homebuyers, the Valley presents more affordable options. In Panorama City, the median home price is $691,805, while Arleta sits at $767,569. Other areas like San Fernando ($754,042), Sylmar ($790,297), Mission Hills ($817,782), North Hills ($869,583), and Winnetka ($874,975) offer relatively lower prices compared to Sherman Oaks, where median home prices reach $1.65 million.
As housing prices soared in Los Angeles, many Black families have moved east to the Inland Empire (IE), encompassing Riverside and San Bernardino counties. In 2022, the IE was identified as the fifth-fastest-growing region in the U.S. and now ranks as the 12th most populous metro area, home to over 4.5 million residents. Riverside County alone saw a 10.4% population increase from 2010 to 2022, while San Bernardino County grew by 7.2%.
Historically, some Black families relocated to Perris and other parts of the Inland Empire in pursuit of the “American Dream”—affordable homeownership and greater opportunities. However, this migration was also driven by factors such as “Black flight” from Los Angeles and the disproportionate targeting of Black communities with predatory subprime loans.
Today, Moreno Valley, often dubbed the “Blackest city” in the Inland Empire, has become a prime destination for Black families seeking affordable homeownership and safer neighborhoods. The median home price there is now $575,000 as of February 2025.
Moreno Valley is located in Riverside County which is home to three of the top five fastest-growing cities in Southern California.
“My husband and I searched high and low throughout L.A. County for a home where we could start a family—someplace with good schools, a nice yard, and safe surroundings,” says Lyndsey Wilson. “The costs were just too high. Instead, we moved 45 minutes out to Jurupa Valley in Riverside, where we found a larger, move-in-ready home for much less. Not only does it have over 3,000 square feet but we also have a hilltop view and plenty of room to grow.”
Kimberly highlights Corona— a city that experienced a 549% increase in its Black population between 1980 and 1990— as another key choice. “I recently had a client purchase a turnkey home in a new development for $750,000 with good square footage. Sure, he’ll have to deal with the commute, but to get this value for his family, he believes was well worth it.”
Beyond the Inland Empire, Palmdale and Lancaster have become popular choices. Singleton says that two of the more recent sales out of her Coldwell Banker office were for homes in the $525,000 range in the Lancaster-Palmdale area.
As the last affordable region for new single-family homes in Los Angeles County, the Antelope Valley has provided many people of color with the opportunity to become homeowners. Once nearly all white, the area has experienced a demographic shift, with Black residents now comprising 21% of Lancaster’s population and 13.6% of Palmdale’s.
With average rents at $1,600 and median home prices around $440,000, Victorville has experienced a fourfold increase in its Black population since 1990. Meanwhile, northern cities like Stockton and Sacramento have also seen significant growth driven by the L.A. exodus.
And while some Black Angelenos are leaving California altogether, joining a broader migration trend toward Texas, Georgia, and Las Vegas, Nevada, Singleton believes that options remain, particularly for those willing to consider condos and townhomes. “It’s the best way to stay in the market and on the Westside. I recently showed a client a 1,400-square-foot unit in Fox Hills for $675,000. There are still good condo opportunities in Baldwin Hills and Inglewood.”
“Even Compton, which has a great deal of inventory, though it suffers reputationally, has some nice areas people can check into in the $500,000 – $700,000 range.”
While the average home value in Compton is $631,387 according to Zillow, some of the newer higher-end homes are priced at $1 million and above.
Another option for those hoping to stay in L.A. is the National Housing Services (NHS), the county’s largest nonprofit dedicated to affordable homeownership under the leadership of Lori Gay. NHS has developed and rehabilitated more than 27,000 housing and commercial units, helping 4.8 million families move toward homeownership.
“Big banks are here to make money, period. The big banks will never make loans at zero to three percent. In the private sector, it’s all profit-driven– even if they make 10,000 deals a year in L.A., they’re not in the business of community development. That’s not who they are,” Gay told L.A. Focus in 2023. “We’re here to develop communities, transform neighborhoods, and help modest-income families– that is our mission.”
But before NHS can lend prospective buyers an affordable loan, they must be in the right place financially, which, for most, takes years of planning and saving. According to Gay, what keeps many people out of being a homeowner is not understanding how to get started, which is why financial education and counseling from the NHS is the most vital part of their mission.
“For almost forty years, we’ve had the approach that we can’t solve everything in housing,” says Gay. “We’ve served well over five million people with financial counseling, which is our first line of defense, and the most important thing we tell people is to let us help you get more financially literate. Learn what you are doing because you should know what you’re doing when you make choices about your money. Ninety-nine percent of people have no clue what they’re doing, so it’s ok, you’re not alone.”
For Gay, what matters most is seeing hard-working families succeed in becoming homeowners–especially for black families, given that just 32% are homeowners in LA County.
“We need a better path to homeownership for regular people, from the bus driver to the schoolteacher,” says Gay.
While Black Los Angeles is far from extinct, its landscape is undeniably changing. Long-standing neighborhoods remain cultural landmarks, but economic pressure and increasingly higher rents continue to push families out. The exodus of Black residents raises critical questions about the future of Los Angeles. For now, Black L.A. stands—even as its footprint shifts.