Neighborhood guide · Updated June 2026
Palms: the Westside's other small-home hub
Here's a stat that surprises even locals: Palms (90034) has 9 licensed senior care facilities, more than any Westside neighborhood except Santa Monica, and 8 of the 9 are small six-bed board-and-care homes. No brochures, no billboards, about 139 licensed beds spread across ordinary residential streets. If Mar Vista is board-and-care country, Palms is its quieter twin, and prices run a notch friendlier.
Counts computed from California Department of Social Services licensing data, June 2026; refreshed quarterly. We don't list facility names; a current, inspection-checked short list is what the free conversation is for.
What Palms costs
Board-and-care homes here typically run $3,500 to $5,500 a month, all-inclusive, with the bottom of that range more reachable than in coastal zips. That's hands-on care (one or two caregivers for six residents) at $1,000 to $2,500 a month less than comparable care in Santa Monica. For a three-year stay, the difference funds a year of care. Full context in the cost guide.
Why Palms works
- Depth of choice in small homes. Eight licensed homes in one zip means real options when one is full, which matters in crisis timelines.
- Central and reachable. Off the 10 between Culver City and West LA: visits stay easy from most of the Westside, and easy visits happen.
- The small-home advantages apply in full: caregiver ratios the big buildings can't match, home cooking, calm settings that suit many people with dementia (verify any home's dementia waiver on its state record). Our board-and-care guide covers fit and trade-offs.
The honest limits
Only one larger community sits in the zip, so if your parent wants the full activity-calendar, dining-room version of senior living, look at Culver City next door or Westwood. And because eight small homes means eight different owners, the inspection-record check is the whole vetting method here; quality varies house to house, and the state record is how you see it before you visit.
Check any home yourself
Every licensed facility in Palms has a public record at the CDSS Care Facility Search. Our walkthrough shows you how to read it, and our touring checklist covers what to verify in person.