Best Places92661, CA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 92661, 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.
92661 ranks 12,886th 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 92661
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.
92661's strengths and weaknesses
Where 92661 ranks high
- Nice weatherabout 324 pleasant days a year, better than 99% of zip codes
- Household income$185,835 median, better than 99% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than 97% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than 94% of zip codes
- Health outlookBetter than 93% of zip codes
Where 92661 ranks low
- Short commute61.1 minutes each way, better than only 1% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 1% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than only 3% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than only 4% of zip codes
- Tree shadeBetter than only 6% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 92661
A household needs to earn about $495,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 92661 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $185,835, 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 92661's effective rate of 0.50%, 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 92661
92661 runs older than the country, 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 92661.
Who works in 92661, and how
Work in 92661 centers on professional & technical and public administration. Unemployment is low, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 65%
- Work from home 29%
- Transit, walk, or bike 6%
Life in 92661
92661 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 92% of zip codes. The coast is about 0 minutes away. That concentrates in some parts of 92661 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 92661, month by month
92661 sees roughly 324 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 92661
John Wayne/Orange County sits about 5 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 92661
Schools across 92661 average an A−, better than 81% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Newport ElementaryA · 65% proficient
Top middle schools
- Horace Ensign IntermediateB+ · 49% proficient
Top high schools
- Newport Harbor HighB+ · 55% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 92661 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
92661 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 92661 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 92661
Is 92661 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 92661 ranks 12,886th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on the weather, high incomes, and big-city access, and lowest on long commutes 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 92661 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $1,975,999. The overall cost of living runs about 197% above the national average. Set against a $185,835 median income, cost of living beats 22% of zip codes.
Is 92661 safe?
92661 is safer than 3% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $1,065 per resident a year.
Compare 92661 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 92661. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 92661 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.
92661 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 92661: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 92661: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 92661: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 92661: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
92661 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.