If you are house hunting in Westlake Village, the LA County vs Ventura County line matters more than most buyers realize. Price is only one piece of the puzzle. Westlake Village is split by the LA County/Ventura County line. The official incorporated city of Westlake Village is in LA County only. The Westlake Village neighborhood on the Ventura County side is part of the City of Thousand Oaks. This invisible boundary determines your property tax bill, your school district and which high school your children will attend.
Key Takeaways
- Westlake Village median home prices reached $1.6 million in February 2026, while Thousand Oaks median prices dropped to $1.0 million.
- Los Angeles County's average effective property tax rate is 0.69% compared to Ventura County's 0.59%. These are countywide averages shaped by Prop 13, not the rate a new buyer pays on purchase price.
- LA County side of Westlake Village feeds into LVUSD with Agoura High School, while Ventura County side attends Westlake High School.
- Applied to a $1.5 million home, those averages imply roughly $10,350 a year in LA County versus $8,850 in Ventura County, a gap of about $1,500.
Los Angeles County's average effective property tax rate is 0.69%, compared to Ventura County's 0.59%. Applied to a $1.5 million home, that works out to about $10,350 a year in LA County versus $8,850 in Ventura County, a gap of roughly $1,500. Those are countywide averages skewed by long-held Prop 13 assessments; a new buyer is taxed on purchase price at the 1% base rate plus local bonds and assessments, so verify the specific parcel. Westlake Village straddles both counties, and the side of the line a property sits on also decides its school district.
What are the median home prices in Westlake Village and Thousand Oaks in 2026?
Prices vary a lot across the Conejo Valley, and the data sources do not always agree. Redfin put the February 2026 median sale price in Westlake Village at $1.6M, up 26.7% from a year earlier, while Thousand Oaks sold for a median of $1.0M, down 16.3%. Zillow, which measures home values rather than closed sale prices, shows the average Westlake Village home value at $1,415,067, down 4.6% over the past year, with homes going pending in around 18 days.
For context on neighboring markets, Westlake Village generally tracks around the mid-$1.5M townwide median, Calabasas is similar to slightly higher by neighborhood, Thousand Oaks is lower, and Hidden Hills is an ultra-luxury peer at a much higher median, with premium Westlake enclaves well above the townwide figure.
Source: Redfin, Zillow data, February 2026
In the same February 2026 data, homes in Thousand Oaks sold after an average of 44 days on the market, down from 48 days a year earlier, while homes in Westlake Village proper took about 58 days. The two sides of the line move at different speeds.
How do property tax rates compare between LA County and Ventura County?
Start with the countywide numbers. Los Angeles County's effective tax rate of 0.694% sits slightly below California's state average of 0.714%, but its median property tax of $5,438 more than doubles the national median of $2,690.
Ventura County presents a different picture. The median property tax in Ventura County, California is $3,372 per year for a home worth the median value of $568,700. Ventura County collects, on average, 0.59% of a property's assessed fair market value as property tax.
Those effective rates are averages across every parcel, including homes assessed decades ago under Prop 13. They are not what you will pay as a new buyer. California sets a base rate of 1% of assessed value (your purchase price), and both counties then add voter-approved bonds, parcel taxes and special assessments that vary by location. On the LA County side, total rates typically run from 1.21% to 1.45%. The actual rate on any given home depends on its specific tax rate area, so check the parcel's current tax bill before you write an offer, and run the numbers with your CPA if the difference matters to your budget.
| County | Effective Tax Rate | Median Annual Tax | Median Home Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles | 0.69% | $5,438 | $783,300 |
| Ventura | 0.59% | $3,372 | $568,700 |
| Westlake Village (estimated) | 0.65% | $9,200 | $1,415,000 |
For a Westlake Village home valued around $1.4 million, the countywide averages imply a difference of roughly $1,400 a year. The real gap for a new buyer comes down to local bonds, assessments and improvement districts on each specific parcel, and can be smaller or larger than that.
Which school district serves which side of the Westlake Village county line?
The split is simple once you see it. On the LA County side, elementary and middle schools feed into Las Virgenes Unified (LVUSD) and the high school is Agoura High. On the Ventura County side, elementary, middle and high school all fall under Conejo Valley Unified (CVUSD) and the high school is Westlake High. That assignment matters for families and for resale values.
Las Virgenes Unified (LVUSD) is a K through 12 district serving approximately 9,600 students across communities including Agoura Hills, Calabasas, Hidden Hills, Bell Canyon, and Westlake Village. According to PublicSchoolReview, LVUSD ranks in the top 10% of all California school districts for combined math and reading proficiency, with a graduation rate around 96%.
On the Ventura County side, CVUSD is home to Westlake High School, which many local parents and agents consider the strongest overall high school in the Conejo Valley, with depth in academics, athletics, performing arts and electives. The school serves students from the Ventura County side of Westlake Village and the Lang Ranch neighborhoods in Thousand Oaks.
Here is the part that trips people up: Westlake High is in CVUSD, not LVUSD, so a Westlake Village address by itself does not get you there. Many buyers specifically seek homes on the Ventura County side for Westlake High, which shows up in demand and pricing.
Families can apply for an interdistrict transfer, but both districts must approve the request and space must be available. Because LVUSD schools are popular, waitlists are common. Buying within the district is the only reliable way to guarantee enrollment.
What does the long-term cost difference mean for your budget?
The county line touches more than one line item. Sales tax differs slightly between the two counties, though nobody is going to drive across town to save on groceries. Property taxes are the number that compounds.
Take a $1.5 million purchase. Using the countywide average effective rates, the LA County side at 0.69% comes to roughly $10,350 a year and the Ventura County side at 0.59% to roughly $8,850, a gap of about $1,500 a year or $15,000 over ten years. Treat that as an illustration of the countywide pattern rather than a quote. Your actual bill on either side will be higher than these averages because it is based on your purchase price, and the gap between two specific parcels can be narrower.
Proposition 13 caps annual increases at 2% for existing homeowners, which means someone who bought in 2000 pays far less than a neighbor who bought the same house in 2024. This protection makes property taxes predictable, but it also creates significant disparities between long-term and new homeowners.
There are lifestyle differences too, though neither side is far from the other. The LA County side has The Stonehaus, the winery and cafe set in its own vineyard at the Westlake Village Inn, a kid and dog friendly spot for lunch, coffee or a glass of wine. The Ventura County side is closer to Wildwood Regional Park in Thousand Oaks, where Paradise Falls drops 40 feet into a pool along the Arroyo Conejo and can be reached by several trails, including a 2.15-mile out and back or a 2.55-mile loop that passes a small cave.
Frequently Asked Questions About County Line Tax Implications
Can I choose which county I'm in when buying in Westlake Village?
No, the county designation is fixed based on the property's location relative to the county boundary. Westlake Village sits on the LA County / Ventura County line, and that line also sets the school district. A Westlake Village address alone does not tell you which side you are on; your agent or the county assessor can verify it for any specific property.
Do property taxes affect home values across the county line?
Yes, but school districts often move values more than tax rates do. Homes that feed into Westlake High (CVUSD, Ventura County side) often command a premium, and on the LA County side, access to LVUSD schools offsets the higher tax rate for many buyers.
How do I find out exactly which county and school district a property is in?
Both the LA and Ventura County assessor websites let you look up a parcel by address, which tells you the county and the tax rate area. For the school assignment, confirm with the district directly, or send me the address and I can check it for you.
Are there other cost differences I should know about?
Beyond property taxes, consider homeowners insurance rates (wildfire risk varies by specific location), utility providers, and local improvement district assessments. These additional charges fund schools, community colleges, infrastructure projects, and local services. Some neighborhoods have additional HOA fees or special assessments regardless of county.
Thinking About Buying or Selling in the Conejo Valley?
Davis Bartels and the DB Real Estate Group have closed 500+ transactions in this market since 2009. If the county line question applies to a home you are considering, happy to walk through the numbers for that specific address.
Contact Davis: davisbartels.com
