Neighboring districts include Monterey Hills on the northeast, El Sereno on the southeast, Lincoln Heights on the southwest, Mount Washington on the northwest, and Highland Park on the north.

Owing to the rugged terrain, no major thoroughfares run through the area, besides Griffin Avenue (Los Angeles).

Most of the homes on the hills were built after the 1950s when engineering technology enabled builders to construct on the steep hillsides.

Montecito Heights sits on the Monterey Hills that divide the Los Angeles Basin from the San Gabriel Valley.

[citation needed] Along with neighboring Highland Park and Pasadena, it is one of the historic centers of the Arts and Crafts movement.