Best Places92116, CA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 92116, 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.
92116 ranks 2,828th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on the weather by a wide margin, and childcare costs are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 92116
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.
92116's strengths and weaknesses
Where 92116 ranks high
- Nice weatherabout 311 pleasant days a year, better than 99% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than 98% of zip codes
- Health outlookBetter than 98% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than 97% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than 97% of zip codes
Where 92116 ranks low
- Cheap childcare$1,432 a month, better than only 9% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than only 9% of zip codes
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 10% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than only 12% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than only 15% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 92116
A household needs to earn about $230,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 92116 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $107,207, 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 92116's effective rate of 0.64%, 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 92116
92116's age mix sits close to the national median, 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 92116.
Who works in 92116, and how
Work in 92116 centers on professional & technical and health care & social. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 64%
- Work from home 26%
- Transit, walk, or bike 10%
Life in 92116
92116 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 67% of zip codes. The coast is about 9 minutes away. That concentrates in some parts of 92116 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 92116, month by month
92116 sees roughly 311 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 82 degrees. January highs sit near 69, with lows near 45. Every month averages in that range.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 69° | 56° | 45° |
| April | 73° | 61° | 53° |
| July | 82° | 71° | 65° |
| October | 82° | 68° | 58° |
Flying in and out of 92116
San Diego International sits about 4 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 92116
Schools across 92116 average a C+, better than 40% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Florence ElementaryD+ · 25% proficient
Top middle schools
- Roosevelt International MiddleD+ · 25% proficient
- Wilson MiddleF · 10% proficient
Top high schools
- Crawford HighD+ · 25% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 92116 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
92116 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 92116 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 92116 suits
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 26% already work from home.
Common questions about living in 92116
Is 92116 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 92116 ranks 2,828th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on the weather, walkability, and population health, and lowest on childcare costs and noise. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 92116 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $900,384. The overall cost of living runs about 50% above the national average. Set against a $107,207 median income, cost of living beats 35% of zip codes.
Is 92116 safe?
92116 is safer than 15% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $545 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 92116?
July highs average about 82 degrees, and January highs near 69 with lows near 45. That works out to about 311 pleasant days a year, more than 100% of zip codes.
Is 92116 good for families?
Schools beat 40% of zip codes, crime safety beats 15%, and childcare runs $1,432 a month.
Compare 92116 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 92116. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 92116 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.
92116 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 92116: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 92116: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 92116: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 92116: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
92116 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.