What it's like to live in Duarte
Duarte is a small city in California with household incomes running above the national average and a growing population. Those factors carry real weight for anyone weighing where to move next.
The tradeoffs are worth naming plainly. Duarte deals with rent well above the national average, home prices well above the national average, county unemployment above the national average, and commute times longer than most cities.
The good
- Higher-than-average incomes
- Growing population
The not so good
- Rent well above the national average
- High home prices
- Above-average unemployment in the county
- Above-average commute times
- Air quality concerns
- High student-teacher ratio
How Duarte compares
Median household income
Median rent (per month)
Median home value
What it takes to move to Duarte
Based on Duarte's median rent, home value and household income
To rent
$4,210
up front: first month plus a typical one-month deposit
- Income to keep rent under 30%: $84,200 a year
- 51% of Duarte renters spend 30% or more of their income on rent
To buy
$155,880
a 20% down payment on the median home
- With 10% down: $77,940
- Homes cost 7.4× the typical local household income (US: 4.1×)
Moving costs, closing costs and taxes not included.
The details
Cost of living▲ 49% above US
$2,105/mo median rent
Rent is expensive here, at $2,105 a month median and well above the national average. This is the kind of city where housing costs deserve serious budgeting before committing to a move. Home prices are steep, with a median around $779,400. Renting first to get a feel for the city before buying is often the more practical route.
Median home value $779,400 · 51% of renters cost-burdened
Job market
5.7% county unemployment
Unemployment in Los Angeles County is 5.7%, somewhat above the national average of 4.3%. Lining up work before the move is the safer route. That's the county-wide rate; BLS doesn't measure a place this size on its own.
Los Angeles County (county-wide)
Safety▼ 27% below US
242 violent crimes per 100k
Pretty safe, all things considered. Violent crime sits below the national average, nothing alarming, just ordinary city-life awareness.
Property crime 1001/100k · Duarte Police Department · 2025 data
Getting around▲ 17% above US
30 min average commute
Traffic is a real factor here. The 30.3 minute average means plenty of commuters are pushing 45 to 60 minutes on a bad day. Proximity to work matters more here than it might elsewhere. 8 in 10 workers drive to work; 17% work from home.
How workers get to work
Climate
Summers are warm, with highs around 85°F, and winters are mild, with lows rarely dropping below 46°F. It's a dry climate with limited rainfall.
Average month
30-year averages, 1991–2020
Education & workforceNear US average
34% bachelor's degree or higher
Education levels run about average, with 34% college-educated. It's a mix of white-collar and blue-collar work, which can be an asset or a limitation depending on the field.
Schools
6 public schools inside the boundary
There are 6 public schools inside the boundary and 1 private school. The student-to-teacher ratio is 18:1, slightly above the national average of 16:1.
Parks & recreation
The nearest national park or historic site is Juan Bautista de Anza National Historic Trail (46 miles away). There are 3 national parks and sites within a day's drive.
Bottom line
Duarte's strongest points are household incomes running above the national average and a growing population; the main tradeoffs are rent well above the national average and home prices well above the national average. A year of median rent ($2,105/mo) equals 24% of the median household income here, more than the 21% typical nationwide. It tends to suit anyone prioritizing low crime and remote workers (17% of workers here already work from home). It may be a harder fit for renters on a tight budget and anyone moving without a job lined up.
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