Best Places92646, CA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 92646, 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.
92646 ranks 1,923rd 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 92646
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.
92646's strengths and weaknesses
Where 92646 ranks high
- Nice weatherabout 325 pleasant days a year, better than 99% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than 98% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than 97% of zip codes
- Household income$142,134 median, better than 95% of zip codes
- Cell coverageBetter than 93% of zip codes
Where 92646 ranks low
- Air qualityBetter than only 4% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 6% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$1,494 a month, better than only 6% of zip codes
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 10% of zip codes
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 17% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 92646
A household needs to earn about $281,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 92646 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $142,134, 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 92646's effective rate of 0.54%, 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 92646
92646 runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 92646.
Who works in 92646, and how
Work in 92646 centers on health care & social and education. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 70%
- Work from home 26%
- Transit, walk, or bike 5%
Life in 92646
The coast is about 3 minutes away. Distance to the water changes a lot across 92646, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 92646, month by month
92646 sees roughly 325 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 81 degrees. January highs sit near 69, with lows near 48. Every month averages in that range.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 69° | 58° | 48° |
| April | 73° | 63° | 56° |
| July | 81° | 72° | 66° |
| October | 81° | 69° | 61° |
Flying in and out of 92646
John Wayne/Orange County sits about 6 miles away. It is a medium hub and boarded 5.5 million passengers in 2025, with 80 nonstop destinations.
The best schools in and around 92646
Schools across 92646 average a B−, better than 65% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- California ElementaryB · 50% proficient
- Ralph E. Hawes ElementaryD+ · 25% proficient
- Newland (william T.) ElementaryD+ · 25% proficient
Top middle schools
- Charles W. Tewinkle MiddleD+ · 26% proficient
- Fulton (harry C.) MiddleD+ · 25% proficient
- Isaac L. Sowers MiddleD+ · 25% proficient
Top high schools
- Fountain Valley HighA+ · 87% proficient
- Huntington Beach HighA · 80% proficient
- Edison HighA · 74% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 92646 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
92646 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 92646 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 92646 suits
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 26% already work from home.
Retirees
The weather beats 100% of zip codes and health care access beats 79%.
Common questions about living in 92646
Is 92646 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 92646 ranks 1,923rd of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on the weather, big-city access, and biking, and lowest on air quality and an overheated housing market. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 92646 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $1,114,588. The overall cost of living runs about 53% above the national average. Set against a $142,134 median income, cost of living beats 66% of zip codes.
Is 92646 safe?
92646 is safer than 45% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $336 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 92646?
July highs average about 81 degrees, and January highs near 69 with lows near 48. That works out to about 325 pleasant days a year, more than 100% of zip codes.
Is 92646 good for families?
Schools beat 65% of zip codes, crime safety beats 45%, and childcare runs $1,494 a month.
Compare 92646 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 92646. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 92646 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.
92646 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 92646: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 92646: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 92646: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 92646: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
92646 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.