Per our neighborhood research, Beverly Hills condos carry a median near $1.85 million at about $1,450 per square foot, against Century City's $1.65 million and roughly $1,150. So Beverly Hills costs roughly a quarter more per foot — mostly for the address and the city, not for a better building. Both figures are research estimates as of August 1, 2026.
The price gap is smaller than the address gap
Beverly Hills is the more famous name by an enormous margin, and the price difference does not match the reputation difference. Our research puts the median condo price about twelve percent higher in Beverly Hills, while the per-square-foot gap is wider at roughly twenty-six percent. Read those two numbers together and they tell you something specific: Beverly Hills condos are not much more expensive per home, they are meaningfully smaller per dollar. The Beverly Hills premium buys the 90210 address, the city services and the school district — not extra square footage.
These are our directory's research estimates, not live comparables. The citywide medians, price per square foot, inventory and days-on-market that actually move week to week are on our live report at /market-stats, and current inventory is at /condos-for-sale.
Vertical by design versus vertical by exception
The two markets differ structurally, not just in price. Century City was planned as a high-rise district on the former 20th Century Fox backlot, and our research describes its housing stock as overwhelmingly vertical: full-service towers plus gated low-rise communities like Century Hill and Century Woods, with true single-family houses essentially nonexistent inside the district. If you want a condo there, you are shopping the mainstream product.
Beverly Hills is the reverse. Our research describes a city that skews heavily toward single-family estates — the flat grid of the Flats, the hillside Trousdale Estates — with condominiums concentrated in a defined tier along Wilshire Boulevard's Condo Canyon and around the business triangle. Buying a condo in Beverly Hills means buying into the exception rather than the rule, which is a large part of why the per-foot number runs higher: the supply is narrow by design.
The buildings each market actually offers
Century City's towers are the district's identity. Our directory profiles The Century and Ten Thousand among them, alongside Park Elm at Century Plaza, the residential component of the restored Century Plaza Hotel now operating as a Fairmont; our neighborhood research also names Century Towers and Park Place in the same tier. These are full-service buildings in the literal sense — 24-hour doormen, valet, concierge, pools, fitness centers and on-site management — and our Century City research is explicit that dues in the top towers commonly run into the thousands per month. Profiles are at /buildings/the-century and /buildings/ten-thousand.
Beverly Hills condo product is named rather than numerous: our neighborhood research points to Condo Canyon on Wilshire and cites The Carlyle and Sierra Towers nearby as the recognizable full-service addresses. The amenity promise is similar. The difference is how many doors it comes behind.
Two city halls, and why that matters at the closing table
This is the difference buyers most often miss. Beverly Hills is an independent incorporated city with its own police department, city government and the Beverly Hills Unified School District. Century City, for all its separate identity, sits inside the City of Los Angeles.
That distinction has a direct cost consequence on a sale: the City of LA's Measure ULA transfer tax reaches high-value transactions in Century City and does not apply in Beverly Hills, because Beverly Hills is not the City of LA. On the price points these two markets trade at, that is not a rounding error — it is a line item worth modeling before you choose a side, particularly if you expect to sell within a few years. The thresholds, the rates and the Prop 13 mechanics underneath them are laid out at /blog/la-condo-property-taxes-prop-13-measure-ula.
Everything else legal is shared. Both sit under California's Davis-Stirling Act, so the association budget, reserve study, minutes and disclosure packet are documents you are entitled to demand in either city — the framework is at /blog/davis-stirling-act-la-condo-buyers.
What our directory can and cannot show you
Be careful reading selection from any single source, ours included. Our research counts roughly 480 active listings across about 22 condo buildings in Century City, against roughly 160 active listings in Beverly Hills. The listing gap is real and reflects genuinely different supply. The building counts do not compare cleanly: our directory's Beverly Hills building coverage is currently thin — one profiled building against Century City's 22 — and that is a fact about our coverage, not about the city's stock, which our own neighborhood research describes as a full Condo Canyon tier. Use /neighborhoods/beverly-hills and /neighborhoods/century-city for the neighborhood picture and treat the building directory as still filling in on the Beverly Hills side.
Which buyer should choose which
Choose Century City if you want the deepest selection of true full-service high-rise living on the Westside, more square footage per dollar, and a lock-and-leave building minutes from Beverly Hills, Westwood and the 405 — and you are willing to carry high dues and, on eventual resale, a City of LA transfer tax. Choose Beverly Hills if the address, the independent city services and the school district are the point, you want walkability to Rodeo Drive rather than to a mall, and you accept a narrower set of buildings and a higher per-foot price for it.
Neither is a compromise. They are two answers to a question about what you are actually buying: a building, or a city. If Century City is on your list, the neighboring comparison worth reading next is at /blog/westwood-vs-century-city-condos; if Beverly Hills is, it is at /blog/west-hollywood-vs-beverly-hills-condos. When you have narrowed to a specific building, that is the moment to pull its documents — and we will introduce you to a licensed partner agent to do it.
Questions buyers ask about Century City and Beverly Hills
Is Beverly Hills more expensive than Century City?
Yes, and the gap is wider per square foot than per home. Per our neighborhood research as of August 1, 2026, Beverly Hills condos run a median near $1.85 million at about $1,450 per square foot, against Century City's $1.65 million and roughly $1,150 — about twelve percent higher on the median but roughly twenty-six percent higher per foot. The premium buys the address, not extra space.
Does Measure ULA apply in Beverly Hills?
No. Beverly Hills is an independent incorporated city with its own government, so the City of Los Angeles transfer tax known as Measure ULA does not reach sales there. Century City sits inside the City of LA, so it does. On the price points these markets trade at, that is a real line item to model before choosing a side, especially if you may sell within a few years.
Which has more condos to choose from?
Century City, clearly. Our research counts roughly 480 active listings across about 22 condo buildings in Century City against roughly 160 active listings in Beverly Hills. Century City was planned as a high-rise district and its housing stock is overwhelmingly vertical, while Beverly Hills skews to single-family estates with condos concentrated along Wilshire's Condo Canyon and the business triangle.
Why are Century City HOA dues so high?
Because the flagship towers are full-service in the literal sense — 24-hour doormen, valet, concierge, pools, fitness centers and on-site management. Our Century City research notes that dues in top buildings such as The Century and Ten Thousand commonly run into the thousands of dollars per month. Budget them explicitly when comparing per-square-foot value against a lower-service building.
Do the same HOA disclosure rules apply in both?
Yes. Both fall under California's Davis-Stirling Act regardless of which city governs the streets outside, so you are entitled to the association's budget, reserve study, meeting minutes and disclosure packet before closing in either market. The difference between the two cities is municipal — police, schools, transfer tax — not associational.
Written by
LA Condo HQ
Los Angeles Condo Specialists
LA Condo HQ is a Los Angeles condo platform — in-depth profiles for the condo buildings we track across Los Angeles, live MLS listings for sale and rent, transparent market data refreshed hourly, and honest, pressure-free guidance for buyers, sellers and investors across Southern California.
