Best Places92678, CA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 92678, 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.
92678 ranks 8,691st of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on a strong job market by a wide margin, and disaster risk is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 92678
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.
92678's strengths and weaknesses
Where 92678 ranks high
- Local economyBetter than 99% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 206 pleasant days a year, better than 98% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than 97% of zip codes
- Household income$155,089 median, better than 96% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than 96% of zip codes
Where 92678 ranks low
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 1% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than only 3% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 3% 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
What it costs to buy a home in 92678
A household needs to earn about $316,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 92678 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $155,089, 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 92678's effective rate of 0.78%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Who lives in 92678
92678 runs older than the country, though fewer residents are over 65 than the national share.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 92678.
Who works in 92678, and how
Work in 92678 centers on professional & technical and manufacturing. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 64%
- Work from home 33%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in 92678
The coast is about 23 minutes away. Distance to the water changes a lot across 92678, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 92678, month by month
92678 sees roughly 206 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 93 degrees. January highs sit near 70, with lows near 40. The comfortable stretch runs January through June and September through November.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 70° | 55° | 40° |
| April | 79° | 62° | 46° |
| July | 93° | 76° | 60° |
| October | 86° | 67° | 50° |
Flying in and out of 92678
John Wayne/Orange County sits about 17 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 92678
Schools across 92678 average a B, better than 70% of zip codes.
Top high schools
- Trabuco Hills HighA · 74% proficient
- Mission Viejo HighA− · 62% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 92678 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
92678 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 92678 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 92678
Is 92678 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 92678 ranks 8,691st of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on a strong job market, the weather, and quiet, and lowest on disaster risk and air quality. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 92678 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $1,214,300. The overall cost of living runs about 54% above the national average. Set against a $155,089 median income, cost of living beats 77% of zip codes.
Is 92678 safe?
92678 is safer than 26% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $438 per resident a year.
Compare 92678 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 92678. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 92678 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.
92678 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 92678: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 92678: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 92678: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 92678: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
92678 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.