Beverly Hills

History

The land was originally home to the Tongva tribe.

Early history

Gaspar de Portolá arrived in the area that would later become Beverly Hills on August 3, 1769, traveling along native trails which followed the present-day route of Wilshire Boulevard. The area was settled by Californio ranchera María Rita Quinteros de Valdez and her husband in 1828. They called their 4,500 acres (18 km2) of property the Rancho Rodeo de las Aguas. In 1854, she sold the ranch to Benjamin Davis Wilson (1811–1878) and Henry Hancock (1822–1883). By the 1880s, the ranch had been subdivided into parcels of 75 acres (0.30 km2) and was being rapidly bought up by Anglos from Los Angeles and the East coast.

Henry Hammel and Andrew H. Denker acquired most of it and used it for farming lima beans. At this point, the area was known as the Hammel and Denker Ranch. By 1888, they were planning to build a town called Morocco on their holdings.

20th century

In 1900, Burton E. Green, Charles A. Canfield, Max Whittier, Frank H. Buck, Henry E. Huntington, William G. Kerckhoff, William F. Herrin, W.S. Porter, and Frank H. Balch formed the Amalgamated Oil Company, bought the Hammel and Denker ranch, and began looking for oil. They did not find enough to exploit commercially by the standards of the time, though. In 1906, therefore, they reorganized as the Rodeo Land and Water Company, renamed the property "Beverly Hills", subdivided it, and began selling lots. The development was named "Beverly Hills" after Beverly Farms in Beverly, Massachusetts, and because of the hills in the area.

The Los Angeles Times reported on September 2, 1906:

Percy H. Clark Company are managing the development of the foothill portion of the Hammel & Denker ranch for the Rodeo Land and Water Company (the Canfield-Huntington-Kerckhoff syndicate), to be known as Beverly Hills. No expense is being spared to make this a fine suburban district. . . . The property has been laid out on beautiful curved lines.

The first house in the subdivision was built in 1907, but sales remained slow.

Beverly Hills was one of many all-white planned communities started in the Los Angeles area around this time. Restrictive covenants prohibited non-whites from owning or renting property, unless they were employed as servants by white residents. It was also forbidden to sell or rent property to Jews in Beverly Hills.

Burton Green began construction on The Beverly Hills Hotel in 1911. The hotel was finished in 1912. The visitors drawn by the hotel were inclined to purchase land in Beverly Hills, and by 1914 the population had grown enough to qualify for incorporation as an independent city. That same year, the Rodeo Land and Water Company decided to separate its water business from its real estate business. The Beverly Hills Utility Commission was split off from the land company and incorporated in September 1914, buying all of the utilities-related assets from the Rodeo Land and Water Company.

In 1919, Douglas Fairbanks and Mary Pickford bought land on Summit Drive and built a mansion, finished in 1921 and nicknamed "Pickfair" by the press. The glamour associated with Fairbanks and Pickford as well as other movie stars who built mansions in the city contributed to its growing appeal.

21st century

In 2001, LACMTA proposed a bus rapid transit route down Santa Monica Boulevard, but this was opposed by the city and never built. This stretch of road is served by less efficient Metro Rapid buses using pre-existing roadways. By 2010, traffic in Beverly Hills and surrounding areas had deteriorated enough that the city's habitual opposition had largely turned to support for subways within the city limits. As part of the D Line Extension project, the D Line of the Los Angeles Metro Rail was intended in 2013 to be extended through Beverly Hills, adding two underground stations at Wilshire/La Cienega and Beverly Drive by the 2020s.

The city of Beverly Hills widely opposed Proposition 8, the 2008 ballot measure which repealed legal recognition of same-sex marriages. The proposition narrowly passed statewide, but in Beverly Hills, only 34% voted in favor, and 66% voted against it.

In the midst of the 2015 drought, Beverly Hills was found to be one of the largest water consumers in California. As a result, it was asked by the state to reduce consumption by 36%, prompting many residents to replace their lawns with native plants. Meanwhile, the city government replaced the grass in front of the City Hall with Mexican sage.

In September 2015, the City of Beverly Hills signed an agreement with Israel to work together on water use as well as "cybersecurity, public health, emergency services, disaster preparedness, public safety, counterterrorism and art and culture".

In July 2016, the City of Beverly Hills received the Livability Award from the United States Conference of Mayors for its Ambassador Program, which takes care of the city's homeless population.

The Beverly Hills Community Dog Park was dedicated on September 6, 2016.

In 2024, the California Attorney General held Beverly Hills accountable for preventing reproductive health clinic from opening, failing to protect California's Constitutional Right to Abortion.

Geography

Beverly Hills and the neighboring city of West Hollywood are together entirely surrounded by the city of Los Angeles. Beverly Hills is bordered on the northwest by the Los Angeles neighborhood of Bel Air and the Santa Monica Mountains, on the east by West Hollywood, the Carthay neighborhood of Los Angeles, and the Fairfax District of Los Angeles, and on the south by the Beverlywood neighborhood of Los Angeles. The area's "Platinum Triangle" is formed by the city of Beverly Hills and the Los Angeles neighborhoods of Bel Air and Holmby Hills.

The ZIP codes for Beverly Hills are 90209 (P.O. boxes only), 90210, 90211, 90212, and 90213 (P.O. boxes only).

Areas

Most residents live in the "flats" of Beverly Hills, which is a relatively flat area that slopes away from the hills, and includes all of Beverly Hills south of Sunset Boulevard and north of Santa Monica Boulevard. This area includes Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts.

Trousdale Estates is a 410-acre neighborhood of large, luxurious homes in Beverly Hills. It was primarily developed in the 1950s and early 1960s by Paul Trousdale, who petitioned the city to incorporate the land into Beverly Hills soon after purchasing it from the Doheny family. Greystone Mansion, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, is in Trousdale Estates. The average sale price of homes in Trousdale is over $10 million.

In a triangle surrounded by Santa Monica Boulevard, Wilshire Boulevard and Crescent Drive is Downtown Beverly Hills, also known as the Golden Triangle, a retail and dining hub attracting locals, and in some sections attracting visitors from across the region and around the world.

Linden, Roxbury, Bedford and Camden drives, short streets catering to residents' needs, lined with medical offices, bank branches, delicatessens, etc.

Rodeo Drive, known for high-end boutiques.

Beverly Drive, lined with upscale chain retailers commonly found in malls. Some restaurants line Beverly Drive as well.

Cañon and Crescent drives, attracting local and regional shoppers and diners to restaurants such as Spago as well as local favorites, particularly along Cañon.

Wilshire Boulevard is home to the two department stores remaining in the city: Saks Fifth Avenue, and Neiman Marcus.

South Beverly Drive, i.e. south of Wilshire Boulevard, is another dining and shopping hub.

Houses south of Wilshire Boulevard have more urban square and rectangular lots, in general smaller than those to the north. There are also more apartment buildings south of Wilshire Boulevard than anywhere else in Beverly Hills.

Climate

Beverly Hills has a warm Mediterranean climate and receives an average 15 inches (380 mm) of rain per year. Summers are marked by warm to hot temperatures with very little wind, while winters are mild to moderate, with occasional rain alternating with periods of Santa Ana winds. Measurable snowfall has been recorded only in 1882, 1922, 1932, 1949 and 1958.

Demographics

Beverly Hills first appeared as a city in the 1920 U.S. census as part of the now defunct Cahuenga Township.

Racial and ethnic composition

As of 2020, 25.7% of the population reported Middle Eastern or North African ancestry. The most reported ancestries were:

Iranian (20.1%)

English (6.5%)

German (5.9%)

Russian (5%)

Irish (4.7%)

Italian (3.7%)

Korean (2.9%)

Polish (2.9%)

Mexican (2.9%)

French (2.8%)

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, Beverly Hills had a population of 32,701 and a population density of 5,729.0 inhabitants per square mile (2,212.0/km2). The census reported that 99.7% of residents lived in households, 0.2% lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, 0.2% were institutionalized, and 100.0% lived in urban areas while 0.0% lived in rural areas.

The age distribution was 16.9% under the age of 18, 8.0% aged 18 to 24, 24.5% aged 25 to 44, 27.1% aged 45 to 64, and 23.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 45.5 years. For every 100 females, there were 85.0 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 81.5 males.

There were 14,564 households, of which 22.2% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 41.5% were married-couple households, 4.4% were cohabiting couple households, 35.7% were households with a female householder and no partner present, and 18.4% were households with a male householder and no partner present. About 37.2% of households were made up of individuals and 14.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.24. There were 8,046 families (55.2% of all households).

There were 16,242 housing units at an average density of 2,845.5 units per square mile (1,098.7 units/km2), of which 14,564 (89.7%) were occupied. Of these, 42.0% were owner-occupied, and 58.0% were occupied by renters; 10.3% of housing units were vacant, with a homeowner vacancy rate of 1.9% and a rental vacancy rate of 8.0%.

During 2019–2023, Beverly Hills had a median household income of $127,979, with 9.0% of the population living below the federal poverty line.

2010 census

The 2010 United States census reported that Beverly Hills had a population of 34,109. The population density was 5,973.1 inhabitants per square mile (2,306.2/km2). The racial makeup of Beverly Hills was 28,112 (82.4%) White (78.6% Non-Hispanic White), 746 (2.2%) African American, 48 (0.1%) Native American, 3,032 (8.9%) Asian, 12 (0.0%) Pacific Islander, 485 (1.4%) from other races, and 1,674 (4.9%) from two or more races. There were 1,941 residents of Hispanic or Latino ancestry, of any race (5.7%).

The Census reported that 33,988 people (99.6% of the population) lived in households, 121 (0.4%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 0 (0%) were institutionalized.

There were 14,869 households, out of which 3,759 (25.3%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 6,613 (44.5%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 1,354 (9.1%) had a female householder with no husband present, 494 (3.3%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 460 (3.1%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 131 (0.9%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 5,400 households (36.3%) were made up of individuals, and 1,834 (12.3%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.29. There were 8,461 families (56.9% of all households); the average family size was 3.05.

There were 6,623 residents (19.4%) under the age of 18, 2,526 (7.4%) aged 18 to 24, 8,540 (25.0%) aged 25 to 44, 9,904 (29.0%) aged 45 to 64, and 6,516 (19.1%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 43.6 years. For every 100 females, there were 84.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 80.3 males.

There were 16,394 housing units at an average density of 2,870.9 units per square mile (1,108.5 units/km2), of which 6,561 (44.1%) were owner-occupied, and 8,308 (55.9%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 2.2%; the rental vacancy rate was 8.0%. 17,740 people (52.0% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 16,248 people (47.6%) lived in rental housing units.

During 2009–2013, Beverly Hills had a median household income of $86,141, with 8.8% of the population living below the federal poverty line.

Economy

Beverly Hills is home to one Fortune 500 company, Live Nation Entertainment. Since August 22, 2011, the headquarters of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer have been located in Beverly Hills after a significant film history established close by on the main original studio lots in Culver City. The talent agencies William Morris Endeavor, Paradigm Talent Agency, The Gersh Agency, United Talent Agency, and Agency for the Performing Arts are based in Beverly Hills.

Hilton Hotels Corporation formerly had its corporate headquarters in Beverly Hills. The original headquarters of GeoCities (at first Beverly Hills Internet) was at 9401 Wilshire Boulevard in Beverly Hills.

The large Beverly Hills Oil Field has four urban drilling islands, which drill diagonally into the earth underneath the city. One drilling island occasioned a 2003 lawsuit representing former attendees of Beverly Hills High School, approximately 280 of which having suffered from cancers allegedly tied to the drilling operations. The oil site on the high school grounds is in the process of being shut down.

Top employers in 2015

According to the city's 2015 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the top employers in the city were:

Government

Municipal government

Beverly Hills is a general law city governed by a five-member city council, including the mayor and vice mayor. The city council hires a city manager to carry out policies and serve as executive officer. Until 2017, every odd-numbered year, either two or three members were elected for four-year terms. However, in 2017, the council changed its cycle to conform with statewide elections; the first such election was held in March 2020. Each April, the city council meets and chooses one of its members as mayor and one as vice-mayor. As of April 2025, Sharona R. Nazarian is mayor, John Mirisch is vice mayor, and Lester Friedman, Craig Corman, and Mary Wells are councilmembers. Ryan Golich serves as city manager. The Director of Community Services is Jamie Bumia.

County, state and federal representation

On the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, Beverly Hills is in the Third District, represented as of 2025 by Lindsey Horvath.

In the upper house of the California State Legislature, Beverly Hills is in the 24th senatorial district, represented by Democrat Ben Allen. In the lower house, it is in the 51st Assembly district, represented by Democrat Rick Zbur.

In the United States House of Representatives, Beverly Hills is in California's 36th congressional district, represented by Democrat Ted Lieu.

New and existing laws

On January 1, 2022, Beverly Hills became the first city in America to ban the sale of all tobacco products. Smoking lounges and hotels are exempt from the new law. The city council enacted the law in June 2021. Flavored tobacco was already banned.

Politics

In the 2024 Los Angeles County District Attorney election, a significant majority of Beverly Hills voters, 73.51% (13,126 votes), voted for Nathan Hochman, whereas only 17.17% (3,077 votes) backed George Gascón.

In the 2024 Election for California's 36th congressional district, 44.67% (7,978 voters) of Beverly Hills backed Melissa Toomim, whereas 43.71% (7,806 voters) of the city voted for the incumbent, Ted Lieu.

Education

Beverly Hills is served by Beverly Hills Unified School District, which includes two kindergarten-through-fifth-grade schools (El Rodeo and Horace Mann), one middle school (Beverly Vista) and Beverly Hills High School. One alternative school, Moreno High School, shares its campus with the aforementioned Beverly Hills High School.

Beverly Hills also has several private schools. Good Shepherd School, a PreK-8 school, is a part of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles. Other private schools include Harkham Hillel Hebrew Academy.

Infrastructure

The Beverly Hills Police Department and the Beverly Hills Fire Department serve as emergency response agencies for the city.

The Los Angeles County Department of Health Services SPA 5 West Area Health Office serves Beverly Hills. The department operates the Simms/Mann Health and Wellness Center in Santa Monica, serving Beverly Hills.

The United States Postal Service operates the Beverly Hills Post Office at 325 North Maple Drive, the Crescent Post Office at 323 North Crescent Drive, the Beverly Post Office at 312 South Beverly Drive, and the Eastgate Post Office at 8383 Wilshire Boulevard. The former Beverly Hills Post Office was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on January 11, 1985.

Autonomous vehicles

In April 2016, the Beverly Hills City Council passed a resolution to create autonomous vehicles for public transportation within the next decade. Mayor John Mirisch said this was one of his top priorities during his tenure as mayor. "This is a game-changer for Beverly Hills and, we hope, for the region," said Mirisch in the press release. "Beverly Hills is the perfect community to take the lead to make this technology a reality. It is now both feasible and safe for autonomous cars to be on the road."

Subway

Beverly Hills is served by the D Line subway. On May 8, 2026 service to the Wilshire/La Cienega station commenced. In 2027, service to the Beverly Drive station will commence, giving Beverly Hills two subway stations. The D Line provides direct service to Union Station in Downtown Los Angeles. By 2027, the line will have direct service to neighboring Westwood.

Media

Beverly Hills is served by free weekly newspapers The Beverly Hills Courier and Beverly Hills Weekly.

The BHUSD has a public-access television station called KBEV, which is run by the students of Beverly Hills High School.

In popular culture

Beverly Hills frequently appears in popular culture as a place of conspicuous wealth or luxury, although the actual demographics of the city are more complex. In some films, such as 1990's Pretty Woman, substantial filming took place in the city; in many others, however, such as Beverly Hills Cop (1984), little is shown besides establishing shots of landmarks such as the Beverly Hills Hotel and Rodeo Drive.

In television, the scene in the opening credits of The Andy Griffith Show (1960–1968), in which Sheriff Taylor and Opie carry fishing poles past a pond, was shot at the Franklin Canyon Reservoir north of the city, just west of Coldwater Canyon. The CBS sitcom The Beverly Hillbillies (1962–1971) followed a hillbilly family who relocate to Beverly Hills from the Ozarks. The city also features in the name of the 1990s soap opera Beverly Hills, 90210, revolving around the lives of teenagers attending the fictional West Beverly Hills High School.

The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills is a reality television franchise.

Beverly Hills appears in the 2005 video game Tony Hawk's American Wasteland. It is where the player's skatepark is located, also being featured as an area the player can steal items for the skatepark.

Sister cities

Acapulco, Mexico

Cannes, France

Herzliya, Israel

Pudong, China