In sharp contrast to most Los Angeles neighborhoods, houses in Hancock Park are set well back from the street, most power and telephone lines are buried, and fences are strongly discouraged. The area also completely surrounds both the Wilshire Country Club and the Los Angeles Tennis Club. These characteristics, along with the area's abundance of classic Los Angeles architecture, have made it one of the most desirable areas in all of Southern California ever since its development, and the average household income of its residents consistently ranks among the highest in the United States.

Due to this alternate meaning of the term, the boundaries of what is meant by "Hancock Park" have some ambiguity. Strictly speaking, its boundaries are Rossmore Avenue to the East, Melrose Avenue to the North, Highland Avenue to the West, and Wilshire Boulevard to the South. Its East and West borders are often confused with Larchmont Village and Windsor Square to the East, and the Fairfax District to the West.