Venice vs Mar Vista

Median prices: Redfin Data Center, zip codes 90291 and 90066, March to May 2026. Zip codes don't match neighborhood borders exactly.

The homes

Venice packs a lot of variety onto small lots: 1910s and 1920s beach cottages and Craftsman bungalows next to striking modern homes, many with rooftop decks to catch the ocean breeze. Two housing types are unique to it. Homes line the Venice Canals, man-made waterways from 1905 with footbridges and small docks, and on Venice's car-free lanes, front doors face a garden path and garages sit on the alley behind.

Mar Vista is mostly single-family streets of post-war bungalows and ranch homes on regular-sized lots, many expanded or rebuilt into larger modern homes. Some streets on Mar Vista Hill have views toward the ocean. Its architectural landmark is the Mar Vista Tract, small modernist houses designed by Gregory Ain in the late 1940s, with open plans, big windows and landscaping by Garrett Eckbo. Homes there rarely come up for sale.

Prices

The price figures on this page use 90291 for Venice, which covers most of the neighborhood, and 90066 for Mar Vista, which also covers parts of nearby Del Rey. In Venice, distance to the sand, canal frontage and architecture move prices a lot, and lots are small. In Mar Vista, the gap between an original bungalow and a full modern rebuild on the same street can be wide, so compare similar homes.

The feel

Venice is built around the beach: the Ocean Front boardwalk, the skate park, the basketball courts and Muscle Beach, with the beach bike path running south to Marina del Rey and north to Santa Monica. Abbot Kinney Boulevard has restaurants, coffee shops, design stores and boutiques, with a big street festival each fall, and Rose Avenue and Washington Boulevard add more at each end. Venice Beach is also set to host the Olympic triathlon in 2028.

Mar Vista is more residential. Venice Boulevard runs through the middle with restaurants, coffee shops and small businesses, the Mar Vista Farmers Market takes over Grand View Boulevard every Sunday morning, and Mar Vista Recreation Center has fields, courts and a pool. Abbot Kinney, Culver City's restaurants and the beach are all a short drive or bike ride away.

Getting around

Neither has a rail station of its own. From Venice, the Metro E Line in Santa Monica is a short ride, and from Mar Vista, the E Line stops in Culver City, a few minutes east. The 10, the 405 and the 90 sit close to both, and LAX is often 15 to 20 minutes from Venice off-peak, with Mar Vista similarly close. Venice Boulevard, which links them, got bus priority lanes and protected bike lanes in 2023. Bikes are a big part of getting around Venice, and near the beach, street parking gets busy on weekends.

City and rules

Both are in the City of Los Angeles, with City of LA permits and rent stabilization on many pre-1978 multi-unit buildings. Venice is in the California Coastal Zone and has its own specific plan, which can affect what you can build, how tall and how long permits take, and the City's home-sharing rules for short-term rentals are strict. Some low-lying Venice blocks near the canals and the beach carry flood zone designations, so check FEMA flood maps. In Mar Vista, exterior changes in the Mar Vista Tract, a Historic Preservation Overlay Zone, go through design review, and with so many rebuilds, ask for permits and final sign-offs on recent work.

Weather

Both get coastal weather. Venice, on the sand, has the coolest summers and the most ocean breeze, with a morning marine layer in late spring and early summer. Mar Vista, a couple of miles inland, sees the same marine layer and can run a few degrees warmer on summer afternoons.