Cheviot Hills is bordered on the west by Rancho Park, on the south by Palms, on the north by Century City, and on the east by Beverlywood. The district's boundaries are, roughly, Manning Avenue on the west, the Santa Monica Freeway on the south, Pico Boulevard on the north, and Castle Heights Avenue on the east. Principal thoroughfares include Pico and National Boulevards and Manning and Motor Avenues.


As a secluded neighborhood centered around golf courses (the Beverly Hills Country Club in the southern part of the district, and the Rancho Park course at the northern end), Cheviot Hills has long been popular among empty-nesters and the elderly. From the 1970s until the late 1990s, crime and poverty in Palms--whose schools also cover most of Cheviot Hills--further reduced the district's desirability to families with young children. However, the Southern California real estate boom that began in the late 1990s made Cheviot Hills a hot destination for upwardly mobile families priced out of West Side neighborhoods like Brentwood and Westwood. Today, Cheviot Hills is considered one of the most desirable neighborhoods in Los Angeles.