Meet Cerritos
Cerritos is a city of about nine square miles in the southeast corner of Los Angeles County, sitting directly on the Orange County line. It is bordered by Artesia to the south, Lakewood to the west, Norwalk to the north, and Buena Park and Cypress in Orange County to the east. The 91 freeway runs along the northern edge and the 605 cuts through the western side, giving Cerritos residents straightforward access to both the LA basin and Orange County without a long drive in either direction.
The city has no major industrial base and no significant high-density commercial zone. It is almost entirely residential and planned retail, organized around a grid of wide suburban streets, manicured parks, and well-maintained single-family neighborhoods. That deliberate planning is a reflection of how the city was intentionally designed when it reinvented itself in the 1960s.
Cerritos has a population of approximately 50,000 residents across nine square miles. The city consistently ranks among the safest communities in Los Angeles County and its schools in the ABC Unified School District rank among the top-performing in the state. Homeownership rates are among the highest in the Southeast LA region. The city has a large Asian American population, particularly Korean American and Filipino American communities, that has shaped the character of local business and community life over the past several decades.
The history of the city
Originally known as Dairy Valley due to its expansive dairy farms, the area transitioned from agriculture to suburban development in the 1960s. In 1967, the city officially adopted the name “Cerritos,” reflecting its new identity as a growing residential hub.
Over the decades, Cerritos became known for its forward-thinking urban planning, including landmarks such as the Cerritos Library—one of the nation’s first major “experience libraries”—and the Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts. Today, the city balances innovation, community pride, and a strong residential character.
What to Know Before Moving to Cerritos
Cerritos is one of the more straightforward places to move to in Southeast LA County. The residential streets are wide and flat, designed for suburban vehicle access, and most blocks can accommodate a standard moving truck without access complications. The main things to plan for are end-of-month lease dates, when moving activity across the region increases, and crew availability tightens, and summer weekends, which are the busiest booking window of the year. HOA rules apply in some of the planned residential developments in the eastern part of the city, so it is worth confirming with your property management whether any move-in window or truck size requirements apply to your address. We check this as part of the standard booking for Cerritos properties.