Santa Monica Ranked #10 Beach Town In U.S.

SANTA MONICA, CA — If you're California dreamin' and appreciate life near the waves and sand, then look no further than Santa Monica.

The city was dubbed a top 10 beach town in the U.S. in a recent report from Wallethub, which ranked 2021's best oceanside and lakeside towns in the U.S. based on several factors ranging from housing costs to quality of beach water.

Three Golden State beach towns made the list for the top 10 ocean beach towns in the nation, and two California lakeside towns landed on the top 10 lake beach towns in the U.S.

"Sadly, some people don't pursue their dream of living by the water, precisely because of the misconception that beach towns are relatively more expensive and generally less livable than landlocked cities," Wallethub analysts said. "Contrary to popular belief, however, many beach towns are suitable to everyday life — and easy on the wallet."

The financial advice website compared 191 cities across 62 indicators of livability such as the lowest median annual property taxes, the highest percentage of for-sale waterfront homes, highest water temperatures, lowest violent crime rates and more.

Santa Monica, which is known for its glamor and deeply rooted history with Hollywood stars and musicians, ranked at no. 10. The beach has 3.5 miles of soft sand and is within walking distance to restaurants, shops and hotels. In the middle of the main beach is the iconic Santa Monica Pier, which has an amusement park called Pacific Park, an aquarium from Heal the Bay and a variety of eateries.

Santa Monica, Laguna Beach and Newport Beach all made the top 10 list of best ocean beach towns.

Here's the list of top beach towns in the U.S.

Top 10 Ocean Beach Towns

1. Naples, FL
2. Laguna Beach, CA
3. Lahaina, HI
4. Newport Beach, CA
5. North Myrtle Beach, SC
6. Sarasota, FL
7. Kailua, HI
8. Boca Raton, FL
9. Destin, FL
10. Santa Monica, CA

Check out the full list here: 2021's Best Beach Towns to Live in

- Patch Editor Kat Schuster contributed to this report.

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