Best Places93108, CA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 93108, 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.
93108 ranks 3,170th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on high incomes by a wide margin, and an overheated housing market is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 93108
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.
93108's strengths and weaknesses
Where 93108 ranks high
- Household income$204,837 median, better than 99% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 238 pleasant days a year, better than 98% of zip codes
- Educational attainmentBetter than 97% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than 94% of zip codes
- Health outlookBetter than 90% of zip codes
Where 93108 ranks low
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 2% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$1,613 a month, better than only 4% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 9% 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 93108
A household needs to earn about $508,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 93108 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $204,837, 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 93108's effective rate of 0.61%, 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 93108
93108 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 93108.
Who works in 93108, and how
Work in 93108 centers on professional & technical and education. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 58%
- Work from home 31%
- Transit, walk, or bike 11%
Life in 93108
93108 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 83% of zip codes and more parkland per resident than 89% of zip codes. The coast is about 3 minutes away. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 93108 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 93108, month by month
93108 sees roughly 238 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 75 degrees. January highs sit near 67, with lows near 41. The comfortable stretch runs March through November.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 67° | 54° | 41° |
| April | 71° | 59° | 48° |
| July | 75° | 65° | 57° |
| October | 77° | 63° | 51° |
Flying in and out of 93108
The nearest airport, Santa Barbara Municipal, is about 12 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Bob Hope, about 75 miles away.
The best schools in and around 93108
Schools across 93108 average a B+, better than 80% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Cold Spring ElementaryA+ · 88% proficient
- Montecito UnionA+ · 80% proficient
- Summerland ElementaryB− · 40% proficient
Top middle schools
- Santa Barbara Junior HighB+ · 50% proficient
- Carpinteria MiddleC · 35% proficient
Top high schools
- Carpinteria Senior HighC− · 28% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 93108 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
93108 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 93108 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 93108
Is 93108 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 93108 ranks 3,170th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on high incomes, the weather, and an educated workforce, and lowest on an overheated housing market and childcare costs. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 93108 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $1,998,105. The overall cost of living runs about 111% above the national average. Set against a $204,837 median income, cost of living beats 79% of zip codes.
Is 93108 safe?
93108 is safer than 24% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $471 per resident a year.
Compare 93108 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 93108. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 93108 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.
93108 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 93108: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 93108: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 93108: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 93108: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
93108 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.