Best Places93301, CA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 93301, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Several measures below read low, and the ranked lists name which ones. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
93301 ranks 29,443rd of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on cell coverage by a wide margin, and air quality ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 93301
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.
93301's strengths and weaknesses
Where 93301 ranks high
- Cell coverageBetter than 97% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than 96% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than 96% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 176 pleasant days a year, better than 95% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than 92% of zip codes
Where 93301 ranks low
- Air qualityBetter than only 1% of zip codes
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 3% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 4% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 5% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than only 6% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 93301
A household needs to earn about $81,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 93301 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $45,431, 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 93301's effective rate of 0.90%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices, buying tends to cost more than renting for about the first 10 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 93301
93301 runs younger than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 93301.
Who works in 93301, and how
Work in 93301 centers on health care & social and hospitality & food. Unemployment runs well above the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 82%
- Work from home 8%
- Transit, walk, or bike 9%
Life in 93301
93301 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 91% of zip codes and more parkland per resident than 92% of zip codes. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 93301 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 93301, month by month
93301 sees roughly 176 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 102 degrees. January highs sit near 63, with lows near 40. The comfortable stretch runs March through May, October, and November.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 63° | 51° | 40° |
| April | 80° | 65° | 51° |
| July | 102° | 88° | 73° |
| October | 84° | 69° | 55° |
Flying in and out of 93301
The nearest airport, Meadows Field, is about 4 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Bob Hope, about 90 miles away.
The best schools in and around 93301
Schools across 93301 average a C, better than 48% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- North Beardsley ElementaryF · 9% proficient
Top middle schools
- Fruitvale Junior HighD+ · 25% proficient
- Beardsley Junior HighF · 11% proficient
Top high schools
- North HighA · 75% proficient
- Bakersfield HighB+ · 53% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 93301 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
93301 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 93301 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 93301
Is 93301 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 93301 ranks 29,443rd of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on cell coverage, walkability, and transit, and lowest on air quality and the cost of living against local pay. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 93301 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $306,178. The overall cost of living runs about 4% above the national average. Set against a $45,431 median income, cost of living beats 3% of zip codes.
Is 93301 safe?
93301 is safer than 6% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $1,005 per resident a year.
Compare 93301 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 93301. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 93301 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.
93301 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 93301: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 93301: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 93301: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 93301: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
93301 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.