Best Places91901, CA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 91901, 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.
91901 ranks 16,868th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on the weather by a wide margin, and disaster risk is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 91901
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.
91901's strengths and weaknesses
Where 91901 ranks high
- Nice weatherabout 204 pleasant days a year, better than 98% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than 88% of zip codes
- Low vacancyBetter than 88% of zip codes
- Household income$113,456 median, better than 87% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than 82% of zip codes
Where 91901 ranks low
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 1% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than only 1% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 8% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$1,432 a month, better than only 9% of zip codes
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 10% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 91901
A household needs to earn about $203,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 91901 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $113,456, 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 91901's effective rate of 0.72%, 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 91901
91901'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 91901.
Who works in 91901, and how
Work in 91901 centers on construction and retail trade. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 83%
- Work from home 14%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in 91901
91901 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 69% of zip codes. The coast is about 31 minutes away. That concentrates in some parts of 91901 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 91901, month by month
91901 sees roughly 204 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 87 degrees. January highs sit near 68, with lows near 43. The comfortable stretch runs February through November.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 68° | 54° | 43° |
| April | 74° | 61° | 52° |
| July | 87° | 74° | 65° |
| October | 82° | 67° | 56° |
Flying in and out of 91901
San Diego International sits about 26 miles away. It is a large hub and boarded 12.7 million passengers in 2025, with 121 nonstop destinations.
The best schools in and around 91901
Schools across 91901 average a C, better than 36% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Descanso ElementaryC− · 27% proficient
- Dehesa ElementaryD · 20% proficient
- Potrero ElementaryF · 10% proficient
Top middle schools
- Oak Grove MiddleD+ · 27% proficient
- Tierra Del Sol MiddleD+ · 25% proficient
- Pine Valley MiddleD · 20% proficient
Top high schools
- Valhalla HighB · 48% proficient
- Granite Hills HighC+ · 40% proficient
- Julian HighC+ · 37% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 91901 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
91901 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 91901 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 91901
Is 91901 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 91901 ranks 16,868th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on the weather, big-city access, and few empty homes, and lowest on disaster risk and air quality. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 91901 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $786,644. The overall cost of living runs about 28% above the national average. Set against a $113,456 median income, cost of living beats 57% of zip codes.
Is 91901 safe?
Yes, 91901 is safer than 75% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $261 per resident a year.
Compare 91901 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 91901. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 91901 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.
91901 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 91901: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 91901: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 91901: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 91901: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
91901 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.