Belmont Heights at a glance
- Location: inland of Belmont Shore in southeast Long Beach, next to Bluff Park, Bluff Heights, Recreation Park and Belmont Park.
- History: incorporated as its own town in 1908 and annexed to Long Beach in 1909 (City of Long Beach).
- Historic district: the Belmont Heights Historic District, adopted May 7, 2002, covers the blocks between Newport and Roswell avenues and Fourth and Seventh streets.
- ZIP codes: mainly 90814, with southern blocks in 90803. See the 90814 ZIP data page.
- Zillow typical value: $1,175,183 in September 2026, up 1.6% over the year, 13.9% over five years and 73.4% over ten.
- ZIP 90814 Census figures: median household income $104,650; 33.5% of occupied homes are owner-occupied; median rent $2,052 (ACS 2020-2024).
Is Belmont Heights a good area to live?
The answer depends on your priorities, so start with what the records show. Belmont Heights is one of the older parts of Long Beach, with tree-lined streets of early 20th century houses, a protected historic core and the ocean a short walk south. Its typical value is about $189,000 below Belmont Shore's ($1,364,075) on Zillow's September 2026 figures, and about 38% above the Long Beach typical value of $852,391.
The trade-offs are the ones that come with old houses: deferred systems, design review on exterior changes inside the historic district, and older garages that may not fit a modern car. Zillow's value peaked at $1,189,896 in March 2026 and was 1.2% below that in September.
What Belmont Heights is known for
Craftsman bungalows. The City's design guidelines for the historic district count 267 contributing and 37 non-contributing properties, with a period of significance from 1905 to 1939. Most are Craftsman, with Spanish Colonial Revival, Victorian, Tudor and Mediterranean Revival houses mixed in, on streets about 35 feet wide with detached garages and some rear alleys. Wikipedia reports that building peaked in 1922.
The neighborhood's early history is unusual. Belmont Heights was a separate town for about a year before Long Beach annexed it in 1909, and Long Beach's dry-town era made the Heights a place to go for a drink, according to Wikipedia. The smaller Eliot Lane Historic District, adopted in 2003, sits inside the area as well.
Belmont Heights homes and prices
The figures below are Redfin's for ZIP 90814 over the three months to September 2026. The ZIP also covers Bluff Heights and part of the area around Fourth Street, so it is a guide to the type mix rather than to Belmont Heights alone. The all-homes median of $828,007 was down 21.9% on a year earlier, partly because of the mix of homes that sold; with so few sales, read every figure as a range.
| ZIP 90814 home type | Median sale price | Year-over-year | Homes sold | Months of supply |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single-family | $1,125,716 | -11.3% | 17 | 1.7 |
| 2 to 4 units | $1,210,000 | -24.0% | 4 | 1.6 |
| Townhouse | $680,001 | n/a | 1 | 3.2 |
| Condo | $458,850 | -16.4% | 14 | 4.9 |
Craftsman bungalows in Belmont Heights
Detached houses in 90814 sold at a median $848 per square foot and went under contract in a median 46 days. In a 100-year-old bungalow, budget for a sewer lateral camera inspection, foundation bolting, knob-and-tube wiring checks and original windows, and ask which past work had permits.
Multi-unit lots in Belmont Heights
The historic district includes both single-family and multi-family properties, and some lots carry a rear unit or a small apartment building. Two- to four-unit sales in 90814 had only 1.6 months of supply. Confirm the legal unit count with the City before paying for rental income.
Condos near Belmont Heights
Condo supply in 90814 stood at 4.9 months, the softest segment in the ZIP, and condos took a median 69 days to sell. Ask for the HOA reserve study and recent assessments.
Living in Belmont Heights
Broadway and Fourth Street shopping near Belmont Heights
Wikipedia describes the stretch of Broadway east of Redondo Avenue as an active business district. A few blocks north and west, Fourth Street's Retro Row has its own business association listed by the City. Second Street in Belmont Shore is a short walk south.
Parks around Belmont Heights
Recreation Park borders the neighborhood, and Colorado Lagoon is a short distance east at the end of Long Beach Transit Route 151. The beach and the Belmont Veterans Memorial Pier at 39th Place are south across Ocean Boulevard; Wikipedia places the pier in Belmont Heights.
School lookup for Belmont Heights addresses
Belmont Heights is in Long Beach Unified. Fremont Elementary, at 4000 East Fourth Street, scored 58.9 points above standard in English on the 2025 California School Dashboard. Mann Elementary, Lowell Elementary, Rogers Middle and Wilson High are nearby. Confirm the schools for a specific address with the district's address lookup, described in our Long Beach schools guide.
Buses and roads in Belmont Heights
Route 131 runs on Redondo Avenue and Route 151 on Fourth Street. Routes 91 to 94 use Seventh Street, the main east-west road on the north edge of the historic district.
Costs of owning in Belmont Heights
Property tax for a Belmont Heights purchase
Under Prop 13 a buyer at Zillow's typical value of $1,175,183 pays a 1% base of about $11,752 a year, plus voter-approved bonds; at the 1.259025% total for one sample Long Beach tax rate area in 2026-27, the bill would be about $14,796. The seller's bill is no guide. See the Los Angeles County property tax guide.
Historic district rules and costs
Inside the historic district, the City requires a Certificate of Appropriateness before any exterior work, even when no building permit is needed. Staff handle minor changes; a second story or an addition over 250 square feet goes to the Cultural Heritage Commission. Review is free for paint and re-roofing. Ask the seller for past certificates. Ask the City's preservation office whether any incentive programs apply to the house.
Insurance and earthquake checks in Belmont Heights
Older wood-frame houses on raised foundations need bolting and cripple-wall bracing to meet current practice. Ask for retrofit permits and price earthquake cover with the California earthquake insurance guide.
Pros and cons of Belmont Heights
Pro: Protected historic streetscape
Design review in the historic district limits teardowns and out-of-scale additions on the core blocks.
Pro: Lower price than the beachfront blocks
The Zillow typical value is about $189,000 less than Belmont Shore's, with the beach still a short walk away.
Pro: Several shopping streets within reach
Broadway, Fourth Street and Second Street are all close by.
Con: Century-old houses need work
Plumbing, wiring and foundations in pre-1940 homes often need upgrades.
Con: Slower value growth lately
Belmont Heights rose 1.6% in the year to September 2026, below the citywide 2.4%.
Con: Approval steps for changes
Additions and exterior changes inside the district need City review, which adds time to any project.
For block-level advice, talk to our featured Belmont Heights agent, or compare Belmont Shore and the full Long Beach guide.