Best Places92109, CA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 92109, 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.
92109 ranks 2,127th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on the weather by a wide margin, and an overheated housing market is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 92109
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.
92109's strengths and weaknesses
Where 92109 ranks high
- Nice weatherabout 332 pleasant days a year, better than 99% of zip codes
- Health outlookBetter than 99% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than 97% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than 96% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than 96% of zip codes
Where 92109 ranks low
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 5% 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
- Air qualityBetter than only 18% of zip codes
- Tree shadeBetter than only 18% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 92109
A household needs to earn about $331,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 92109 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $127,917, 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 92109's effective rate of 0.65%, 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 92109
92109 runs younger 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 92109.
Who works in 92109, and how
Work in 92109 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 61%
- Work from home 32%
- Transit, walk, or bike 7%
Life in 92109
92109 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 90% of zip codes and more parkland per resident than 97% of zip codes. The coast is about 2 minutes away. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 92109 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 92109, month by month
92109 sees roughly 332 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 92109
San Diego International sits about 5 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 92109
Schools across 92109 average a B, better than 64% of zip codes.
Top middle schools
- Muirlands MiddleD+ · 25% proficient
Top high schools
- Point Loma HighA · 75% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 92109 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
92109 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 92109 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 92109 suits
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 32% already work from home.
Common questions about living in 92109
Is 92109 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 92109 ranks 2,127th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on the weather, population health, and biking, and lowest on an overheated housing market and childcare costs. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 92109 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $1,291,282. The overall cost of living runs about 69% above the national average. Set against a $127,917 median income, cost of living beats 43% of zip codes.
Is 92109 safe?
92109 is safer than 22% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $477 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 92109?
July highs average about 77 degrees, and January highs near 68 with lows near 48. That works out to about 332 pleasant days a year, more than 100% of zip codes.
Is 92109 good for families?
Schools beat 64% of zip codes, crime safety beats 22%, and childcare runs $1,432 a month.
Compare 92109 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 92109. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 92109 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.
92109 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 92109: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 92109: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 92109: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 92109: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
92109 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.