City, Los Angeles County
© McCormack's Guides
Zip Codes: 90706, 90707
Located north of Long Beach, Bellflower offers housing that spans the last century. Population 77,110. Schools score from low-middle to high. Town took name from an apple that grew in region. www.mccormacks.com
Median age of residents is 30. Under 18 years, 32 percent. Over 55 years, 15 percent. Many children and young families.
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Bellflower was one of the first hamlets to boom after World War II. In the 1940s and 1950s, the city built 9,800 homes and apartments, about 40 percent of all its current housing. In the 1960s, the town constructed about 5,000 housing units and in the following decade, 4,400.
Bellflower built initially for veterans entering the housing market and then stayed focused on middle-class housing. The three-bedroom home is popular. In the 1980s, Bellflower added 3,000 housing units, and in the last decade, about 1,200.
Bellflower has a layout that shows up in several other communities. Much of the city is subdivided into large lots that once contained a single home but later added, out back, other homes and apartments. In some places, the single home blends into an apartment complex. Typically, one driveway serves all the residential units.
Some large lots contain just one home and this gives parts of Bellflower a country feeling. In appearance, the city shows a lot of care. Downtown decked out with brick cross walks, trees, ornamental lights. The homes are in good repair, the yards tended. www.mccormacks.com
The state in 2008 counted 24,506 housing units: 11,249 single homes, 2,085 single attached, 9,570 multiples, 1,602 mobiles.
Education is provided by Bellflower Unified School District, which takes in part of Lakewood. Most schools are scoring in the 20th to 50th percentile, several in the 70th to 80th percentile. Cerritos Community College is located a few miles to the east. Catholic high school. See Schools.
Nine homicides in 2005, three in 2004, seven in 2003, one in 2002, seven in 2001. The counts for previous years are 5, 8, 4, 4, 7, 10, 6, 4, 9, 4, 2. Bellflower contracts with the sheriff’s department for police protection. Substation in downtown. See Crime.
Cultural and recreational offerings include six parks, one a large sports park, tennis courts, swimming pools, a 9-hole golf course, horse trails, a bowling alley, sports leagues, social clubs.
Several hospitals, including a Kaiser. www.mccormacks.com
Four freeways in or near the city make it easy for residents to hit the road. About 18 miles to downtown L.A. Short commute for those who have jobs in Long Beach.
For orientation on cities, towns and neighborhoods of Los Angeles County, see County Overview.
Chamber of commerce: (562) 867-1744.
City web site: www.bellflower.org
