Downey property values rise to $17 billion as county reaches record high

American flags fly outside a row of Downey homes on Nov. 18, 2024. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)

DOWNEY — Assessed property values in Downey climbed to more than $17 billion in 2026, part of a countywide increase that pushed Los Angeles County’s taxable property roll to a record $2.272 trillion.

Downey’s assessed valuation rose from approximately $16.37 billion in 2025 to $17.01 billion this year, an increase of about $636.9 million, or 3.9%, according to figures released by Los Angeles County Assessor Jeff Prang. The city’s assessment roll includes 23,424 parcels, including 20,032 single-family residential parcels, 2,059 residential income properties and 1,333 commercial or industrial parcels.

Property values also increased across most neighboring communities.

Bellflower’s assessed value grew 4.3% to about $8.02 billion, while Cerritos rose 3.5% to nearly $13.49 billion. Lakewood increased 4.2% to approximately $13.87 billion, and Pico Rivera posted a 6% increase to nearly $7.97 billion.

South Gate’s assessed valuation increased 3.9% to about $8.70 billion, while Santa Fe Springs rose 3.6% to approximately $12.33 billion. Norwalk recorded more modest growth, increasing 0.4% to nearly $11.59 billion.

Countywide, the 2026 Assessment Roll increased by approximately $96 billion, or 4.42%, marking the 16th consecutive year of growth. The increase came despite a cooling real estate market, broader economic uncertainty and the lingering effects of wildfires in Pacific Palisades and Altadena.

“When I presented the forecast to the Board of Supervisors in May, I emphasized 2025-2026 was a challenging year, and the impact of January’s devastating wildfires will be felt for years to come,” Prang said. “Even so, Los Angeles County’s economy continues to demonstrate remarkable resilience. Not only did we maintain value growth, we exceeded our May forecast of 3.9 percent, finishing the year at 4.42 percent.”

The assessment roll is used to calculate property taxes and serves as an economic benchmark for cities, school districts and other local agencies as they prepare budgets and fund public services.

County officials said the increase is expected to generate more than $27 billion in property tax revenue for education, public safety, healthcare, libraries, parks and other government services.

Property transfers were the largest contributor to the increase, adding more than $49 billion in assessed value. The county’s median home sale price reached $982,000, although sales volume remained relatively flat compared with the previous year.

The annual inflation adjustment permitted under Proposition 13 added approximately $43 billion. Because the California Consumer Price Index exceeded the constitutional limit, the maximum allowable 2% inflation adjustment was applied.

New construction added more than $12 billion, while personal property and fixtures contributed more than $11 billion. Declines in the downtown Los Angeles office market and other assessment adjustments removed more than $9 billion from the roll.

Although the countywide roll increased by 4.42%, officials said most individual property owners will not see tax bills rise by the same percentage. Proposition 13 generally limits annual increases in a property’s assessed base value to no more than 2%, except when a property changes ownership, undergoes new construction or receives another adjustment.

The 2026 roll includes nearly 2.4 million taxable real property parcels, more than 157,000 business property assessments, 31,938 boats and 3,566 aircraft.

It also includes nearly $95 billion in property tax exemptions, resulting in an estimated $948 million in tax savings. Those exemptions include approximately 891,000 homeowners’ exemptions, more than 9,100 disabled veterans’ exemptions and about 15,000 institutional exemptions for religious, charitable and other qualifying organizations.