Mission Hills

This area is predominately Hispanic, and it is reflected by the warmth, homey atmosphere, and the multi-family dwellings in each single person house. This area isn't untouchable to live in, but yet more expensive then that of San Fernando Valley, but less than Venice Beach. Middle income area to live in, with plenty of restaurants, real estate, and stores. A downside are the schools- all three school systems ( middle, elementary, high school) are on the lower end of the totem pole with schools that don't have the best reputation. My advice? Enjoy the commnity and live here, but perhaps find a school system more reputable yet close by.

When I was growing up in the 1970’s and 80’s, Mission Hills had a certain minor cache. It was considered a good place to raise kids because it was underdeveloped, just far enough away from the rest of the Valley to avoid overcrowding that was already being felt then. It was considered still to be fairly wide open with ranch houses on large lots. By the 90’s Mission Hills had pretty much lost its celebrated status. In fact, it largely fell off the map and you barely heard about it.

This anonymity may actually turn out to have been a boon for the neighborhood. Thanks to a closely knit community and their efforts with neighborhood watches, Mission Hills seems to have largely avoided the gangs that plague Van Nuys and some of the surrounding areas. In fact, Mission Hills is probably what San Fernando hopes to become through its various development projects.

The average income in Mission Hills is twice that of neighboring San Fernando and the population trends much older. Households tend to have a greater number of residents per single household, reflecting the close knit nature of the Hispanic community that dominates the city. Houses tend to be older ranch homes, usually tan, and there is still an open feel to the community despite the population increase in the last decade.

Unfortunately, the local public school, Arleta High School, is on the lower end in terms of academics and test scores. This is surprising because their student to teacher ratio is 1 to 13. Residents say that the schools do not suffer from the sort of gang and discipline problems that you sometimes get in underachieving schools, so it is a bit of a mystery why the school isn’t doing better.

You cannot mention Mission Hills without mentioning the Mission from who it gets its name. The San Fernando Mission is the oldest spot in the Valley, founded there in 1797 during the Spanish Empire’s move into upper California. It is not as beautiful as other missions throughout California but it still gets a modest set of visitors.