Best CA Beach Towns To Live In: LIST

CALIFORNIA – With summer in full swing, chances are you've been to the beach or have planned a beach getaway. But have you dreamed of living by the beach?

Living on the coast can be costly, so WalletHub looked at affordability, as well as weather, safety, economy, education and health, and quality of life to determine the most livable beachside communities in the country. Experts at the personal finance website compared 205 beach towns across 58 metrics.

The sample included cities that have populations between 10,000 and 150,000 residents and at least one beach listed on TripAdvisor. The communities were then split into ocean towns and lake towns.

Lahaina, Hawaii, topped the list of best ocean towns, with Florida communities Naples and Sarasota ranking closely behind at second and third, respectively. Traverse City, Michigan, topped the list of best lake towns.

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A number of cities in California made the rankings, with two ranking among the top 10 ocean towns. Mill Valley in the San Francisco Bay Area ranked fourth, while Santa Monica in Los Angeles County ranked sixth. Folsom, a city in Sacramento County that's commonly known for Folsom Prison, ranked as the third best lake town.

These are the ocean beach cities in California that made the rankings. National rankings are in parenthesis:

1. Mill Valley (4)
2. Santa Monica (6)
3. Encinitas (14)
4. Sonoma (16)
5. Carlsbad (19)
6. San Clemente (20)
7. Benicia (22)
8. San Mateo (23)
9. Newport Beach (24)
10. Santa Barbara (25)
11. Santa Cruz (26)
12. Lake Forest (32)
13. Coronado (34)
14. Monterey (35)
15. Alameda (37)
16. Hermosa Beach (39)
17. San Buenaventura (Ventura) (40)
18. Palos Verdes Estates (43)
19. Dana Point (45)
20. Laguna Beach (46)
21. Manhattan Beach (47)
22. Goleta (50)
23. Daly City (52)
24. Seal Beach (53)
25. Redondo Beach (59)
26. Half Moon Bay (61)
27. Pacific Grove (71)
28. Carpinteria (72)
29. San Luis Obispo (73)
30. Pacifica (76)
31. Marina (79)
32. Capitola (92)
33. Eureka (103)
34. Morro Bay (116)
35. Lompoc (119)
36. Santa Fe Springs (124)
37. Watsonville (133)
38. Malibu (134)
39. Richmond (136)

These are the lake beach cities in California that made the rankings. National rankings are in parenthesis:

1. Folsom (3)
2. South Lake Tahoe (20)
3. Lake Elsinore (42)

Click here to read the full report. (Get Patch real-time email alerts for the latest news fromyour California neighborhood. Also, download the free Patch iPhone app or free Patch Android app. Also, be sure to follow your local Patch on Facebook!)

ALSO SEE:

• CA Beaches Graded A+ Through F: Heal The Bay's Beach Report Card
• California Cities Ranked Happiest In U.S.
• California Is Most Fun State In America: Study
• Best Cities To Live In California: Report

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