Best Web Design in Montebello, CA (2026)

Web Design for Montebello, California

Montebello is a working-class, majority-Latino city in eastern Los Angeles County whose name means 'beautiful hill' in Italian, chosen in 1899 reportedly at the suggestion of water engineer William Mulholland. It grew from flower and produce farms into an oil boomtown after Standard Oil struck crude in the Montebello Hills in 1917, and today it runs one of L.A. County's largest municipal bus systems and has produced a striking number of celebrities for its size.

AppWT works with Montebello, CA businesses from Livonia, Michigan, mostly online and travelling as needed.

About Montebello

Also known as. Beautiful Hill / Beautiful Mountain (Italian meaning of the name). The City of Flowers with an Oil Well Payroll. Gateway to the San Gabriel Valley.

History. The site sits near where Franciscan fathers Angel Somera and Pedro Cambon founded Mission San Gabriel Arcangel on September 8, 1771, before the mission was later moved to its present San Gabriel location. The Battle of Rio San Gabriel, one of the last armed clashes of the Mexican-American War over California, was fought on the banks of the Rio Hondo on January 8, 1847. The townsite was laid out in May 1899 from the 1,200-acre Newmark and Cohn holding; it was first called Newmark, then renamed Montebello. Montebello was incorporated on October 16, 1920, as one of the earliest cities in Los Angeles County. Standard Oil discovered oil in the Montebello Hills in 1917, and over the following century the field is estimated to have yielded roughly one-eighth of all crude oil produced in California.

Local economy. Top employers include Kaiser Permanente (about 4,496 workers), the Montebello Unified School District (about 3,577), and printing firm Monarch Litho (about 2,865). Served by the 351-bed Beverly Hospital, a significant local employer and healthcare anchor. Runs Montebello Bus Lines, the third-largest municipal bus operator in Los Angeles County (behind Long Beach Transit and Santa Monica's Big Blue Bus), carrying roughly 8 million passengers a year across about 15 communities. Historic economy shifted from early-1900s flowers, berries, vegetables and fruit to oil after 1917; the retail Montebello Town Center mall serves the surrounding region today.

Culture and community. Population roughly 62,640 (2020 census), predominantly Hispanic/Latino (about 78 percent), giving the city a strongly Mexican-American cultural identity. Whittier Boulevard's Chicano cruising culture was immortalized in the 1979 film 'Boulevard Nights.' East L.A. band Los Lobos has performed at Montebello Park, part of a local live-music tradition. Sister-city relationship with Ashiya, Japan, dating to 1961, plus ties to cities in Mexico.

What makes Montebello distinct. For a city of about 60,000 it has produced an outsized roster of famous people, including boxer Oscar De La Hoya, actor Edward James Olmos (Montebello High Class of 1964), actor Jay Hernandez, Olympic figure skater Mirai Nagasu, and Nobel chemistry laureate Robert Bruce Merrifield (MHS Class of 1939). An EF1 tornado struck Montebello in March 2023, described as the strongest tornado to hit the Los Angeles metro area since March 1983. The name was reportedly suggested by William Mulholland, the same engineer behind the Los Angeles Aqueduct. Montebello High School dates to 1909, predating the city's own 1920 incorporation.

Diverse, largely Latino suburb just east of East Los Angeles in the San Gabriel Valley. It grew from farmland into an oil and residential city in the early 20th century.

Montebello Landmarks and Local Life

• Juan Matias Sanchez Adobe - Built in 1844, the city's oldest standing structure
• Montebello Barnyard Zoo - Family petting zoo with pony and train rides at Grant Rea Park
• Battle of Rio San Gabriel site - 1847 Mexican-American War battlefield, California Historical Landmark No. 385
• Montebello City Park - The city's oldest park, with a swimming pool and skate park
• Montebello Municipal Golf Course - 120-acre 18-hole course founded in 1928

Montebello at a Glance

U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2023.

• Median household income: About $74,955
• Adults with a bachelor degree or higher: About 22%
• Housing: About 46% of homes are owner-occupied, so a majority of households rent
• Housing: Roughly 47% of housing units are single-family homes, with the rest in multi-unit buildings