The area north of Venice Boulevard was filled in with suburban single-family development, including many surviving examples of mid-century modern residential architecture along Beethoven, Meier, and Moore street.

But as the surrounding areas of Western Los Angeles have developed into major business and tourism centers, property values rapidly increased to the point where, as of 2020, older homes marketed as tear-downs regularly sell for over $1 million.

[1] The section of the neighborhood south of Venice Boulevard is zoned for apartment buildings, and as such it is significantly more densely populated.

This section is home to a large concentration of dingbat apartment buildings which are mostly subject to Los Angeles' Rent Stabilization Ordinance, allowing many long-term renters to stay in the area despite increasingly expensive rents and property values.

Mar Vista is adjoined on the northeast by Palms, on the east, southeast and south by Culver City, on the west by Venice and on the northwest by Santa Monica.

[12] The 2000 U.S. census counted 35,492 residents in the 2.9-square-mile Mar Vista neighborhood—an average of 12,259 people per square mile, about the norm for Los Angeles; in 2008, the city estimated that the population had increased to 37,447.

Mexico (36%) and Korea (6%) were the most common places of birth for the 33.5% of the residents who were born abroad—considered an average figure for Los Angeles.

[11] Forty-two percent of Mar Vista residents aged 25 and older had earned a four-year degree by 2000, a high figure for both the city and the county.

Service started in May 2019, users can reserve a ride through the LAnow smartphone app, online or by phone.