Best Places92802, CA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 92802, 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.
92802 ranks 15,492nd of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on the weather by a wide margin, and civic engagement ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 92802
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.
92802's strengths and weaknesses
Where 92802 ranks high
- Nice weatherabout 271 pleasant days a year, better than 99% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than 98% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than 95% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than 94% of zip codes
- Cell coverageBetter than 90% of zip codes
Where 92802 ranks low
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 3% of zip codes
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 4% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than only 5% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 5% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 6% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 92802
A household needs to earn about $192,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 92802 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $89,751, 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 92802's effective rate of 0.69%, 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 92802
92802 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 92802.
Who works in 92802, and how
Work in 92802 centers on health care & social and manufacturing. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 84%
- Work from home 7%
- Transit, walk, or bike 9%
Life in 92802
92802 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 89% of zip codes and more late-night spots per resident than 97% of zip codes. The coast is about 14 minutes away. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 92802 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 92802, month by month
92802 sees roughly 271 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 87 degrees. January highs sit near 71, with lows near 46. The comfortable stretch runs September through July.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 71° | 57° | 46° |
| April | 77° | 64° | 54° |
| July | 87° | 74° | 66° |
| October | 85° | 70° | 58° |
Flying in and out of 92802
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 92802
Schools across 92802 average a C+, better than 66% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Parkview ElementaryF · 10% proficient
Top middle schools
- South Junior HighD · 19% proficient
- Ball Junior HighD · 19% proficient
Top high schools
- Oxford AcademyA+ · 93% proficient
- Garden Grove HighA− · 60% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 92802 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
92802 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 92802 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 92802 suits
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 7% already work from home.
Common questions about living in 92802
Is 92802 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 92802 ranks 15,492nd of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on the weather, big-city access, and biking, and lowest on civic engagement and education levels. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 92802 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $744,643. The overall cost of living runs about 37% above the national average. Set against a $89,751 median income, cost of living beats 14% of zip codes.
Is 92802 safe?
Yes, 92802 is safer than 56% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $324 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 92802?
July highs average about 87 degrees, and January highs near 71 with lows near 46. That works out to about 271 pleasant days a year, more than 99% of zip codes.
Is 92802 good for families?
Schools beat 66% of zip codes, crime safety beats 56%, and childcare runs $1,494 a month.
Compare 92802 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 92802. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 92802 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.
92802 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 92802: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 92802: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 92802: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 92802: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
92802 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.