Best Places92103, CA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 92103, 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.
92103 ranks 2,520th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on the weather by a wide margin, and noise is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 92103
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.
92103's strengths and weaknesses
Where 92103 ranks high
- Nice weatherabout 345 pleasant days a year, better than 99% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than 97% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than 97% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than 97% of zip codes
- Health outlookBetter than 96% of zip codes
Where 92103 ranks low
- QuietBetter than only 6% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$1,432 a month, better than only 9% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than only 9% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter 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 92103
A household needs to earn about $276,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 92103 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $113,835, 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 92103's effective rate of 0.73%, 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 92103
92103 runs older than the country, and households here run smaller than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 92103.
Who works in 92103, and how
Work in 92103 centers on professional & technical and health care & social. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 63%
- Work from home 27%
- Transit, walk, or bike 10%
Life in 92103
92103 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 90% of zip codes and more parkland per resident than 99% of zip codes. The coast is about 6 minutes away. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 92103 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 92103, month by month
92103 sees roughly 345 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 77 degrees. January highs sit near 68, with lows near 48. Every month averages in that range.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 68° | 58° | 48° |
| April | 71° | 63° | 56° |
| July | 77° | 70° | 66° |
| October | 78° | 68° | 60° |
Flying in and out of 92103
San Diego International sits about 2 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 92103
Schools across 92103 average a B−, better than 49% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- MuseumC+ · 38% proficient
- Grant K-8D+ · 25% proficient
- Florence ElementaryD+ · 25% proficient
Top middle schools
- Roosevelt International MiddleD+ · 25% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 92103 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
92103 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 92103 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 92103 suits
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 27% already work from home.
Retirees
The weather beats 100% of zip codes and health care access beats 66%.
Common questions about living in 92103
Is 92103 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 92103 ranks 2,520th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on the weather, transit, and walkability, and lowest on noise and childcare costs. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 92103 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $1,067,833. The overall cost of living runs about 47% above the national average. Set against a $113,835 median income, cost of living beats 53% of zip codes.
Is 92103 safe?
92103 is safer than 9% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $667 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 92103?
July highs average about 77 degrees, and January highs near 68 with lows near 48. That works out to about 345 pleasant days a year, more than 100% of zip codes.
Is 92103 good for families?
Schools beat 49% of zip codes, crime safety beats 9%, and childcare runs $1,432 a month.
Compare 92103 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 92103. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 92103 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.
92103 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 92103: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 92103: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 92103: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 92103: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
92103 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.