Best Places92656, CA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 92656, 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.
92656 ranks 1,564th 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 92656
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.
92656's strengths and weaknesses
Where 92656 ranks high
- Nice weatherabout 329 pleasant days a year, better than 99% of zip codes
- Health outlookBetter than 98% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than 96% of zip codes
- Household income$153,138 median, better than 96% of zip codes
- Cell coverageBetter than 92% of zip codes
Where 92656 ranks low
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 5% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter 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
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 20% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 92656
A household needs to earn about $242,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 92656 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $153,138, 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 92656'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 92656
92656's age mix sits close to the national median.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 92656.
Who works in 92656, and how
Work in 92656 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 70%
- Work from home 26%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in 92656
92656 has more parkland per resident than 79% of zip codes. The coast is about 8 minutes away. That concentrates in some parts of 92656 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 92656, month by month
92656 sees roughly 329 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 92656
John Wayne/Orange County sits about 10 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 92656
Schools across 92656 average a B, better than 66% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- JourneyB · 49% proficient
Top high schools
- Aliso Niguel HighA− · 66% proficient
- Laguna Hills HighB+ · 56% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 92656 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
92656 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 92656 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 92656 suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 79% of zip codes, 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 60%.
Common questions about living in 92656
Is 92656 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 92656 ranks 1,564th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on the weather, population health, and big-city access, and lowest on an overheated housing market and air quality. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 92656 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $943,881. The overall cost of living runs about 48% above the national average. Set against a $153,138 median income, cost of living beats 79% of zip codes.
Is 92656 safe?
92656 is safer than 43% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $394 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 92656?
July highs average about 81 degrees, and January highs near 69 with lows near 48. That works out to about 329 pleasant days a year, more than 100% of zip codes.
Is 92656 good for families?
Schools beat 66% of zip codes, crime safety beats 43%, and childcare runs $1,494 a month.
Compare 92656 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 92656. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 92656 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.
92656 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 92656: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 92656: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 92656: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 92656: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
92656 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.