Best Places92139, CA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 92139, 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.
92139 ranks 8,752nd 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 92139
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.
92139's strengths and weaknesses
Where 92139 ranks high
- Nice weatherabout 286 pleasant days a year, better than 99% of zip codes
- Health outlookBetter than 94% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than 92% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than 90% of zip codes
- Low vacancyBetter than 81% of zip codes
Where 92139 ranks low
- Air qualityBetter than only 6% 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
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 10% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 11% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 92139
A household needs to earn about $161,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 92139 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $95,244, 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 92139's effective rate of 0.58%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices, buying tends to cost more than renting for about the first 10 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 92139
92139 runs younger than the country, 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 92139.
Who works in 92139, and how
Work in 92139 centers on health care & social and retail trade. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 87%
- Work from home 10%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in 92139
92139 has fewer places to eat and drink per resident than most zip codes. The coast is about 11 minutes away. That concentrates in some parts of 92139 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 92139, month by month
92139 sees roughly 286 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 81 degrees. January highs sit near 69, with lows near 43. Every month averages in that range.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 69° | 55° | 43° |
| April | 74° | 60° | 50° |
| July | 81° | 70° | 62° |
| October | 81° | 67° | 55° |
Flying in and out of 92139
San Diego International sits about 9 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 92139
Schools across 92139 average a C+, better than 61% of zip codes.
Top middle schools
- Bonita Vista MiddleB · 44% proficient
Top high schools
- Bonita Vista Senior HighB · 50% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 92139 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
92139 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 92139 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 92139 suits
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 10% already work from home.
Common questions about living in 92139
Is 92139 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 92139 ranks 8,752nd of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on the weather, population health, and transit, and lowest on air quality and childcare costs. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 92139 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $634,085. The overall cost of living runs about 28% above the national average. Set against a $95,244 median income, cost of living beats 28% of zip codes.
Is 92139 safe?
92139 is safer than 34% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $392 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 92139?
July highs average about 81 degrees, and January highs near 69 with lows near 43. That works out to about 286 pleasant days a year, more than 99% of zip codes.
Is 92139 good for families?
Schools beat 61% of zip codes, crime safety beats 34%, and childcare runs $1,432 a month.
Compare 92139 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 92139. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 92139 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.
92139 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 92139: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 92139: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 92139: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 92139: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
92139 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.