Best Places92821, CA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 92821, 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.
92821 ranks 3,558th 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 92821
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.
92821's strengths and weaknesses
Where 92821 ranks high
- Nice weatherabout 269 pleasant days a year, better than 99% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than 98% of zip codes
- Health outlookBetter than 95% of zip codes
- Household income$132,325 median, better than 93% of zip codes
- Low vacancyBetter than 93% of zip codes
Where 92821 ranks low
- Air qualityBetter than only 4% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$1,494 a month, better than only 6% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 10% of zip codes
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 10% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than only 10% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 92821
A household needs to earn about $228,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 92821 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $132,325, 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 92821'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 92821
92821's age mix sits close to the national median, 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 92821.
Who works in 92821, and how
Work in 92821 centers on health care & social and education. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 79%
- Work from home 16%
- Transit, walk, or bike 5%
Life in 92821
92821 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 86% of zip codes and more parkland per resident than 68% of zip codes. The coast is about 21 minutes away. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 92821 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 92821, month by month
92821 sees roughly 269 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 92821
The nearest airport, Long Beach (Daugherty Field), is about 16 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is John Wayne/Orange County, about 17 miles away.
The best schools in and around 92821
Schools across 92821 average a B, better than 65% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Golden ElementaryB · 50% proficient
- Las Positas ElementaryD+ · 25% proficient
Top middle schools
- Brea Junior HighB+ · 49% proficient
- Ladera Vista Junior High School Of The ArtsD+ · 25% proficient
- Imperial MiddleD+ · 25% proficient
Top high schools
- Diamond Bar HighA · 78% proficient
- El Dorado HighA− · 61% proficient
- Brea Olinda HighB+ · 54% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 92821 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
92821 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 92821 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 92821 suits
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 16% already work from home.
Common questions about living in 92821
Is 92821 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 92821 ranks 3,558th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on the weather, big-city access, and population health, and lowest on air quality and childcare costs. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 92821 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $891,789. The overall cost of living runs about 38% above the national average. Set against a $132,325 median income, cost of living beats 69% of zip codes.
Is 92821 safe?
Yes, 92821 is safer than 62% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $303 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 92821?
July highs average about 87 degrees, and January highs near 71 with lows near 46. That works out to about 269 pleasant days a year, more than 99% of zip codes.
Is 92821 good for families?
Schools beat 65% of zip codes, crime safety beats 62%, and childcare runs $1,494 a month.
Compare 92821 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 92821. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 92821 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.
92821 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 92821: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 92821: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 92821: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 92821: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
92821 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.