Best Places92596, CA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 92596, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Local pay runs high here, and housing takes the biggest bite out of it. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
92596 ranks 2,951st of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on the weather by a wide margin, and long commutes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 92596
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.
92596's strengths and weaknesses
Where 92596 ranks high
- Nice weatherabout 272 pleasant days a year, better than 99% of zip codes
- Household income$143,828 median, better than 95% of zip codes
- Internet speedBetter than 94% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than 92% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than 91% of zip codes
Where 92596 ranks low
- Short commute41.0 minutes each way, better than only 3% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than only 4% of zip codes
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 10% of zip codes
- Tree shadeBetter than only 10% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 12% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 92596
A household needs to earn about $178,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 92596 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $143,828, 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 92596's effective rate of 1.02%, 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 92596
92596 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 92596.
Who works in 92596, and how
Work in 92596 centers on health care & social and retail trade. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 78%
- Work from home 19%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in 92596
92596 has fewer places to eat and drink per resident than most zip codes and more parkland per resident than 67% of zip codes. The coast is about 43 minutes away. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 92596 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 92596, month by month
92596 sees roughly 272 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 89 degrees. January highs sit near 69, with lows near 47. Every month averages in that range.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 69° | 55° | 47° |
| April | 75° | 60° | 51° |
| July | 89° | 72° | 61° |
| October | 85° | 68° | 59° |
Flying in and out of 92596
The nearest airport, San Bernardino International, is about 34 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Ontario International, about 42 miles away.
The best schools in and around 92596
Schools across 92596 average a B, better than 60% of zip codes.
Top middle schools
- Bell Mountain MiddleD+ · 25% proficient
- Rancho Viejo MiddleD+ · 25% proficient
- Diamond Valley MiddleD− · 15% proficient
Top high schools
- West Valley HighD+ · 24% proficient
- Tahquitz HighD · 23% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 92596 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
92596 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 92596 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 92596 suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 91% of zip codes, internet is fast and widely advertised, and 19% already work from home.
Common questions about living in 92596
Is 92596 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 92596 ranks 2,951st of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on the weather, high incomes, and fast internet, and lowest on long commutes and air quality. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 92596 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $662,977. The overall cost of living runs about 12% above the national average. Set against a $143,828 median income, cost of living beats 91% of zip codes.
Is 92596 safe?
Yes, 92596 is safer than 91% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $204 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 92596?
July highs average about 89 degrees, and January highs near 69 with lows near 47. That works out to about 272 pleasant days a year, more than 99% of zip codes.
Is 92596 good for families?
Schools beat 60% of zip codes, crime safety beats 91%, and childcare runs $1,337 a month.
Compare 92596 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 92596. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 92596 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.
92596 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 92596: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 92596: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 92596: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 92596: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
92596 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.