Best Places91321, CA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 91321, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. The coast is close, and the measures below put a number on how close. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
91321 ranks 13,686th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on the weather by a wide margin, and air quality ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 91321
BestNeighborhood is the only ranking that scores 40 measures of daily life neighborhood by neighborhood and lets you re-weight every one of them yourself.
91321's strengths and weaknesses
Where 91321 ranks high
- Nice weatherabout 284 pleasant days a year, better than 99% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than 96% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than 90% of zip codes
- Health outlookBetter than 90% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than 89% of zip codes
Where 91321 ranks low
- Air qualityBetter than only 1% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 6% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than only 9% of zip codes
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 10% of zip codes
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 11% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 91321
A household needs to earn about $197,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 91321 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $106,309, so buying stretches a typical household.
Where the monthly payment goes
Assumes a 20% down payment, a 6.6% 30-year fixed rate, and a 28% share of income going to the payment. The rate is the 2026-07-23 30-year fixed average, series MORTGAGE30US from the St. Louis Fed, which publishes Freddie Mac's weekly survey. Against the median home value, property tax uses 91321's effective rate of 0.77%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices and rents, renting stays cheaper than buying across the first 10 years here, so the case for buying rests on staying much longer or on prices rising faster than assumed. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 91321
91321's age mix sits close to the national median, and households here run larger than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 91321.
Who works in 91321, and how
Work in 91321 centers on health care & social and retail trade. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 79%
- Work from home 14%
- Transit, walk, or bike 7%
Life in 91321
91321 has more parkland per resident than 84% of zip codes. The coast is about 25 minutes away. That concentrates in some parts of 91321 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 91321, month by month
91321 sees roughly 284 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 90 degrees. January highs sit near 66, with lows near 51. The comfortable stretch runs October through June.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 66° | 60° | 51° |
| April | 74° | 67° | 57° |
| July | 90° | 82° | 69° |
| October | 82° | 74° | 62° |
Flying in and out of 91321
Bob Hope sits about 15 miles away. It is a medium hub and boarded 3.1 million passengers in 2025, with 54 nonstop destinations.
The best schools in and around 91321
Schools across 91321 average a C, better than 32% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Meadows ElementaryA · 69% proficient
- Peachland Avenue ElementaryB · 48% proficient
- Old Orchard ElementaryB · 47% proficient
Top middle schools
- La Mesa Junior HighF · 10% proficient
Top high schools
- Valley Academy Of Arts And SciencesC+ · 35% proficient
- Sylmar Biotech Health And Engineering MagnetC− · 28% proficient
- Golden Valley HighD+ · 25% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 91321 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
91321 measure by measure
Cards are ordered by how much each measure matters to you, so the ones you weighted highest come first. Expand to see every measure. Percentages compare 91321 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 91321 suits
Families
Schools land around the 32nd percentile and crime safety beats 57%.
Common questions about living in 91321
Is 91321 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 91321 ranks 13,686th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on the weather, big-city access, and biking, and lowest on air quality and disaster risk. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 91321 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $755,453. The overall cost of living runs about 27% above the national average. Set against a $106,309 median income, cost of living beats 46% of zip codes.
Is 91321 safe?
Yes, 91321 is safer than 57% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $312 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 91321?
July highs average about 90 degrees, and January highs near 66 with lows near 51. That works out to about 284 pleasant days a year, more than 99% of zip codes.
Is 91321 good for families?
Schools beat 32% of zip codes, crime safety beats 57%, and childcare runs $1,130 a month.
Compare 91321 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 91321. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 91321 represents the same real quantity as a 60 anywhere else, and the ranking is a weighted average of those absolutes. The map colors come from a national scale calibrated against a population weighted random sample of 5,000 neighborhoods. That absolute scoring is what no other places-to-live ranking does: it puts a single neighborhood, a town, a metro, and a state on one scale, so the same 40 measures answer both which metro to move to and which street inside it to buy on. Read the full methodology.
91321 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 91321: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 91321: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 91321: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 91321: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
91321 detail on related sites:
- CrimeGrade: neighborhood crime rates behind the crime safety score.
- ISPreports.org: provider by provider internet availability and advertised speeds.
- CoverageWatch: the car insurance premiums behind the cheap car insurance score.
Federal and public data:
- U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey: income, home value, rent, vacancy, commute time and mode, educational attainment, home age, age structure, household type, industry, and race.
- NOAA Global Surface Summary of the Day: the daily station record behind the monthly temperatures and the pleasant-day count.
- FAA Passenger Boarding Data: airport size and annual passenger counts.
- Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey: the 30-year fixed rate used in the cost-to-buy estimate.
- FBI Crime Data Explorer: reported offenses behind the tangible crime cost estimate.
- U.S. EPA Air Quality System: five year average air quality index.
- FEMA National Risk Index: expected annual loss from natural hazards.
- CDC PLACES: disease burden, preventable risk, and barriers to care.
- National Center for Education Statistics: school enrollment and assessment inputs behind the school grade.
- FCC National Broadband Map: internet and wireless availability.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: employment and job growth behind the local economy score.
- Religious activity uses a proprietary religious signal measurement.
Your priorities
Move a slider to say how much a measure matters. Zero turns it off.