Los Angeles Essential Guide: Finding Rentals Near LA's Biggest Job Hubs

Los Angeles is best known as an industry town. Even with local film production waning and different sectors of entertainment taking major hits, people still flock to LA for employment and entrepreneurial possibilities they can't find anywhere else. I come from the video games industry, which requires a drastically different skillset than acting and directing, but the commonality of short-term gigs and always needing to jump from one project to another.

The running gag among natives to transplants is being asked, "Are you here for movies or rocket science?" since aerospace has a major presence in the greater Los Angeles area. TV and movie studios, social media influencing, the music industry, video games, and the cottage industries that serve these fields still have a major foothold in the local economy. However, the California state Employment Development Department (EDD) only recognizes two major film studios, Disney and Sony Pictures, on their list of state-designated major employers in LA County, along with ticketing agent and concert promoter Live Nation as far as entertainment industry rep goes.

As the second-largest city in the US, LA's massive, diverse population equate to having several major employers across different sectors of the economy. Aside from entertainment and media, influencers, and aerospace, major employers in the city and county include healthcare organizations, educational institutions, and local government itself.

If you're considering a job with one of these major employers and want to shorten your commute, here are some of the top neighborhoods to consider when looking for rentals near major employers in Los Angeles.

Current Rental Pricing for Apartments in the Los Angeles Metro Area

LAX

LAX is one of the busiest airports in the world, and recognized by the EDD as one of the largest employers in LA. While the official LAX entity, Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA), directly employs about 1,500 people, over 59,000 jobs are directly attributable to LAX. Being a major trans-Pacific travel hub and Angelinos’ primary airport for cross-country flights, about six million passengers travel through LAX every month.

El Segundo

El Segundo is best known as the home of LAX, and subsequently, many airline personnel and LAWA employees live in the neighborhood. El Segundo can seem comparatively tiny when you look at other cities in LA County and beachside neighborhoods in LA, but it's actually a major job center for airlines, the aerospace industry, and the hospitality sector. Hotels in El Segundo are numerous, given the large daily volume of passengers, and Boeing and Raytheon also have facilities directly south of LAX.

El Segundo isn't all airport hotels and loud take-offs, however. Downtown El Segundo has a quaint and almost suburban feel, like a similar vibe to Pasadena except you're a hop and skip from the beach. El Segundo Beach is the closest, but you can also hike, bike, or skate up the scenic coastal trail to Dockweiler State Beach. As a bonus, rents in El Segundo tend to be lower than trendier beachside neighborhoods like Venice and Santa Monica.

Westchester

Sitting directly north of LAX, Westchester is another popular choice for LAX workers. In comparison to El Segundo, Westchester has a more sprawling and residential feel once you're past Manchester Avenue. The hospitality and aerospace jobs aren't as numerous as its counterpart south of the airport, but you still have very close proximity to those jobs. Even better, Westchester also has a Metro K line station that is just one stop from the LAX Metro Center, offering an incredibly fast and low-cost commute if your job is within LAX.

If you don't feel like taking off during your downtime, Westchester has a vast golf course and park nearby and is about 15 minutes from Playa del Rey, a beach that doesn't get as crowded as Manhattan Beach or Santa Monica.

Inglewood

The City of Inglewood is about a 15-minute commute from LAX and the surrounding areas that serve the airport. Inglewood is an excellent choice for airport and aerospace workers who like concerts and other large events, as the neighborhood is home to YouTube Theater, the Intuit Dome, Kia Forum, and SoFi Stadium in addition to other venues. Shopping and dining are plentiful along Century Boulevard and Manchester Boulevard, and downtown Inglewood offers walkability and updated apartment buildings with amenities similar to what you'll find in Hollywood and Santa Monica.

If you want to avoid hectic commutes and cumbersome employee parking at LAX, downtown Inglewood has a Metro K line station that's just two stops from the LAX Metro Center.

UCLA

UCLA, University of California's Los Angeles campus and satellite offices, employs about 50,000 people, including professors, administrative staff, researchers, support staff, doctors and medical professionals, and more. UCLA is a leading research institution with a teaching hospital, and several UCLA Health medical facilities throughout the city. UCLA's locus is its sprawling 400+ acre campus in Westwood, although they also have medical offices all over the west side and a DTLA practice.

UCLA educates about 30,000 students per year in six undergraduate schools, seven professional schools, and public health and medical schools. The UCLA Bruins are also a premier team in college athletics, making the university a coveted employer among sports professionals.

Westwood Village

Westwood is the closest that LA has to a "college town", since UCLA has a major presence in the area. Since on-campus housing is limited and not all students can commute, students, professors, and UCLA employees fiercely compete for Westwood aparments. Aside from having a close commute to the large campus and its satellite offices throughout the neighborhood and west side, Westwood is a very walkable neighborhood with many options for shopping and dining.

Staff parking at UCLA can be onerous and expensive, which is why apartments in the neighborhood are highly coveted. Westwood also makes it easy to live in LA without a car, since LA Metro buses, Culver City Bus, and Santa Monica Big Blue Bus lines are plentiful and easily accessible, plus the Metro Purple Line is slated to open its Westwood station around 2027.

Sawtelle

Since it's incredibly difficult to find housing with a walkable commute to UCLA, Sawtelle is a more affordable option for UCLA staff who don't want to spend hours commuting. A bus from Sawtelle takes about 20 minutes to the main UCLA campus, and 10-30 minutes via the 405 depending on traffic.

Sawtelle is popular with UCLA employees since it's a peaceful and low-key neighborhood with more accessible parking than what you'll find in Westwood, with lots of hidden gems like restaurants and bakeries only known to locals.

Century City

Century City's landmark is the open-air mall that is often the only truly walkable part of the entire neighborhood. While you'll be more car-dependent in Century City than the immediate area around UCLA, it's a neighborhood that a lot of UCLA staff gravitate to since it's only a 15-20 minute commute with more spacious and/or affordable housing options.

Then if you need a break from teaching brain surgery, you also won't be far from the all the fun clubs in West Hollywood.

Kaiser Permanente

Kaiser Permanente is one of the largest healthcare organizations in the US, serving 12.6 million patients. With a network comprised of 40 hospitals and over 600 medical offices, Kaiser Permanente employs over 240,000 people from the Puget Sound to Washington, D.C., with about 10,000 employees throughout LA County.

There are a handful of Kaiser Permanente offices throughout LA County, but their main campus is in the City of Los Angeles located on Sunset Boulevard and Vermont Avenue adjacent to the Metro B line station, across from the Children's Hospital of Los Angeles.

Los Feliz

Los Feliz is a leafy hideaway north of the main Kaiser Permanente campus. The main drags are Vermont and Hillhurst Avenues, with scads of vintage shops, trendy restaurants, and yoga studios. The residential blocks away from the main drags are incredibly quiet, with classic bungalow apartments, single-family homes, and dingbat apartments. You can easily walk to work from the southern edge of the neighborhood, or have a very short drive to the main Kaiser campus since the Dash bus doesn't run very late.

You'll also frequently overhear screenwriter and studio gossip at neighborhood hangouts like The Alcove and Fred 62, and occasionally spot a hungover celebrity at House of Pies if you need a bite to eat after a late shift.

East Hollywood

Some Angelinos disagree on where Little Armenia ends and East Hollywood begins, but the Kaiser Permanente campus falls between the two disputed boundaries. East Hollywood offers convenience, excellent dining options, and easy access to the 101 and Metro B line. Your commute will easily be under 15 minutes, or mere minutes if you take the Metro from the Vermont-Santa Monica station just one stop to Sunset.

East Hollywood offers updated buildings and amenities, but also plenty of old school Hollywood feel like bungalow courts and restaurants that have been in the neighborhood for decades, like The Mexican Village.

Thai Town

As the name implies, Thai Town is majority-Thai area. It is federally recognized as a Preserve America Asia Pacific Islander neighborhood, and is just a six-block stretch along Hollywood Boulevard tucked into Hollywood and Little Armenia. In addition to numerous Thai restaurants, you'll also find hallmarks of Thai culture like colorful sidewalk shrines.

You can easily walk to the main Kaiser Permanente campus from a Thai Town apartment, take the 217 Metro bus, or have a very short drive to work.

Disney

The mouse hardly needs any introductions: Disney is veritably the Coca-Cola of the entertainment industry, with everything from movies to video games and consumer goods to theme parks. Between Disneyland in Anaheim and its Burbank studio, Disney is one of the largest employers in LA County to the point it was recognized by the EDD. Disney has about 233,000 employees worldwide, with roughly 10,000 in the greater Los Angeles area. Many Disney employees who work at the studio (opposed to Disneyland) opt to live in Burbank, the San Fernando Valley, or the cluster of neighborhoods where northern LA ends and Burbank begins.

North Hollywood

North Hollywood, or Noho, has long been a preferred neighborhood for entertainment workers of all stripes. I've met and hung out with communities of writers, actors, animators, game developers, artists, and everyone in between who've made Noho home for decades. Noho is a very short commute to the Disney HQ in Burbank, both via the freeway and the street if the 134 is too backed up.

Noho is more humble and low-key than its counterpart further down the 101: it's where the Imagineers live, rather than the Disney Princesses.

Valley Village

Made famous by The Sarah Silverman Show in the 2000s, Valley Village shares many characteristics with North Hollywood with the communities of actors, writers, and other workers in the entertainment industry who need proximity to multiple studios.

Valley Village is a hop and skip down the 134 from Disney Studios, and almost every bar along Chandler Boulevard is a place where you can talk shop or do some improv.

Magnolia Park

Technically, it's in Burbank, but Magnolia Park is literally where Burbank begins and North Hollywood ends. Magnolia Park is the closest neighborhood to Disney Studios to the point you can almost walk there if you can brave the traffic at that intersection on Olive Street.

Magnolia Park is incredibly popular with Disney employees and other people in the entertainment industry not just for its extreme proximity to the Disney HQ and other major studios, but the bucolic stretch of Magnolia Boulevard is a wonderland of coffee shops, vintage shops, and specialty stores selling set pieces and wardrobes from the backlots. It's a paragon of what many people came to LA for, even as the industry is going through an identity crisis.

No matter where you work in LA, finding the right apartment for your needs and budget can be challenging. But if you work for one of the major employers in the area that tend to offer better pay and stability than many of your small employer and self-employed counterparts, you'll have no trouble finding a new rental that lessens or even eliminates one of life's greatest hassles: commuting.