How Far Is Los Angeles to Long Beach, California? Distance, Drive Time, and Transport Options
Los Angeles to Long Beach is 25 miles (40 kilometres) by road. The drive takes 27 to 34 minutes without traffic via the I-710 South. In peak-hour traffic, the same route takes 45 to 90 minutes.
How Far Is Los Angeles to Long Beach by Car?
The driving distance from downtown Los Angeles to downtown Long Beach is 25 miles (40 kilometres). The straight-line distance between the 2 cities is 20 miles (32 kilometres). The difference between the 2 figures is the additional distance added by the road network.
Both cities sit within Los Angeles County. Long Beach is located directly south of downtown Los Angeles, which makes the I-710 South the most logical and direct route between the 2.
What Is the Fastest Route from Los Angeles to Long Beach?
The I-710 South (Long Beach Freeway) is the fastest route from Los Angeles to Long Beach. It connects downtown LA directly to the Long Beach city centre in a single continuous freeway with no major interchanges required.
3 routes connect Los Angeles to Long Beach by car:
- I-710 South (Long Beach Freeway): The most direct route. 25 miles, 27 to 34 minutes in normal traffic. Enter from the I-10 East in downtown LA.
- I-110 South to I-405 South: An alternative when the I-710 is congested. Adds approximately 3 miles but avoids the Compton stretch of the 710.
- Surface streets via Alameda Street: The slowest option. Recommended only when freeway traffic is at a standstill. Adds 15 to 25 minutes compared to the freeway.
The halfway point between Los Angeles and Long Beach is Lynwood, California.
How Long Does It Take to Drive from Los Angeles to Long Beach?
The drive from Los Angeles to Long Beach takes 27 to 34 minutes without traffic. In congested conditions, the same journey takes between 45 and 90 minutes.
| Traffic Condition | Estimated Drive Time | Best Departure Window |
|---|---|---|
| No traffic (off-peak) | 27 to 34 minutes | Before 7am or after 8pm |
| Moderate traffic | 40 to 55 minutes | 10am to 2pm |
| Heavy traffic (rush hour) | 60 to 90 minutes | 7am to 9am, 4pm to 7pm |
| Weekend midday | 35 to 50 minutes | Saturday 11am to 3pm |
The average driving speed between Los Angeles and Long Beach under typical traffic conditions is 42 miles per hour (68 kilometres per hour).
The I-710 through Compton and Lynwood is the stretch most affected by congestion during peak hours. Departing before 7am or after 8pm consistently produces drive times under 35 minutes.
How Far Is Los Angeles to Long Beach by Public Transport?
The Metro A Line (Blue Line) covers the distance between downtown Los Angeles and downtown Long Beach in approximately 55 minutes. It is the fastest public transport option and is unaffected by road traffic.
How Long Does the Metro A Line Take from LA to Long Beach?
The Metro A Line runs from 7th Street/Metro Center station in downtown Los Angeles to Downtown Long Beach station in 55 minutes. The line operates 7 days a week from approximately 5am to midnight, with trains running every 6 to 12 minutes during peak hours.
Long Beach Transit’s central hub is the Long Beach Transit Mall, located along 1st Street in downtown Long Beach, and it serves as the southern terminus of the Metro rail connection to Los Angeles.
4 key Metro A Line stops between LA and Long Beach:
- 7th Street/Metro Center (downtown LA): The primary boarding station for most visitors.
- Willowbrook/Rosa Parks: Transfer point for the Metro C Line (Green Line).
- Compton: Midpoint station, approximately 25 minutes from downtown LA.
- Downtown Long Beach: Final stop, 2 blocks from the Long Beach waterfront.
The Metro A Line fare is $1.75 per trip as of 2025. A TAP card is required. Day passes are available for $5.
Is There a Bus from Los Angeles to Long Beach?
Yes. Several bus routes connect Los Angeles to Long Beach, but all take longer than the Metro A Line. Bus journey times range from 60 to 90 minutes depending on the route and traffic conditions.
Long Beach Transit operates 34 bus routes with almost 2,000 bus stops, running 7 days a week. All routes are wheelchair accessible.
The most relevant bus routes for the LA to Long Beach corridor are Metro Lines 60 and 762, which run along Whittier Boulevard and Long Beach Boulevard respectively. Both connect to the Long Beach Transit network at the southern end.
How Far Is LAX to Long Beach?
LAX to Long Beach is 16 miles (26 kilometres) by road, with a standard drive time of 25 to 31 minutes. This is a shorter distance than the downtown LA to Long Beach journey because LAX sits on the southwestern edge of Los Angeles, closer to Long Beach.
| Starting Point | Distance to Long Beach | Drive Time |
|---|---|---|
| Downtown Los Angeles | 25 miles (40 km) | 27 to 34 minutes |
| Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) | 16 miles (26 km) | 25 to 31 minutes |
| Hollywood | 30 miles (48 km) | 35 to 50 minutes |
| Santa Monica | 22 miles (35 km) | 30 to 45 minutes |
| Pasadena | 28 miles (45 km) | 35 to 50 minutes |
| Beverly Hills | 26 miles (42 km) | 30 to 45 minutes |
The drive from LAX to Long Beach has an average speed of 41.5 miles per hour (66.8 kilometres per hour) under typical traffic conditions.
From LAX, the fastest route to Long Beach is the I-105 East to the I-710 South. This avoids central LA entirely and connects directly to Long Beach via the freeway network south of the city.
How Far Is Los Angeles to Long Beach by Taxi or Rideshare?
A taxi from downtown Los Angeles to downtown Long Beach costs approximately $55 to $75. Rideshare prices from apps such as Uber and Lyft range from $30 to $60 depending on demand and surge pricing.
Long Beach Yellow Cab charges a flat fee of $72 from Long Beach to downtown Los Angeles and $60 to Los Angeles International Airport. Flat-fee taxi services are a consistent option when rideshare surge pricing raises costs during peak demand.
Is Long Beach Part of Los Angeles?
Long Beach is not part of the City of Los Angeles. It is an independent city within Los Angeles County. The distinction is important for understanding the distance question. Long Beach has its own mayor, city council, police department, and transit authority.
Both cities share Los Angeles County but are separate municipal governments. Long Beach is the 7th largest city in California by population, with approximately 460,000 residents. It is the 2nd largest city in Los Angeles County after the City of Los Angeles itself.
The Port of Long Beach and the Port of Los Angeles are adjacent facilities located at the border between the 2 cities. Together they form the San Pedro Bay port complex, the largest port complex in the United States by container volume.
What Is There to Do Between Los Angeles and Long Beach?
3 notable stops sit along the I-710 corridor between Los Angeles and Long Beach.
- Watts Towers: A National Historic Landmark in Watts, 8 miles south of downtown LA. The Watts Towers are an iconic landmark visible along the route between Los Angeles and Long Beach.
- Compton: A historic city in south Los Angeles County with cultural significance in American music history, located at the midpoint of the route.
- Port of Long Beach: At the southern end of the I-710, the Port of Long Beach is the 2nd busiest container port in the United States and is visible from the freeway as you enter the city.
The total one-way trip covers 25 miles of Los Angeles County urban landscape before arriving at Long Beach’s waterfront, where the Queen Mary, the Aquarium of the Pacific, and the Rainbow Harbour are located within 10 minutes of the freeway exit.
Georgia Williams writes for Best Beaches Near Barcelona by riding the same Rodalies trains she sends readers to catch. She has done the quick R2 Sud run out to Castelldefels and Sitges more times than she can count, and the longer hauls north to Calella, Blanes, and the Costa Brava coves around Tossa de Mar, Roses, and Cadaqués.
She is not chasing sponsorships and she does not work with tourism boards. She has stood on enough train platforms recalculating a ruined plan to know that a beach photographed at sunrise with nobody in frame tells you almost nothing about what it looks like at noon in July.
Her writing compares sand, water, and crowd levels town by town, and says plainly when a popular spot has stopped being worth the trip. She also says when an overhyped beach is still genuinely good, because contrarianism for its own sake helps no one packing a beach bag on a Friday morning.