Best Places93309, CA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 93309, 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.
93309 ranks 22,073rd 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 93309
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.
93309's strengths and weaknesses
Where 93309 ranks high
- Nice weatherabout 176 pleasant days a year, better than 95% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than 92% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than 90% of zip codes
- Cell coverageBetter than 88% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than 86% of zip codes
Where 93309 ranks low
- Air qualityBetter than only 1% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 6% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 8% of zip codes
- Heat safetyBetter than only 10% of zip codes
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 10% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 93309
A household needs to earn about $83,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 93309 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $73,152, 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 93309's effective rate of 0.88%, 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 8 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 93309
93309 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 93309.
Who works in 93309, and how
Work in 93309 centers on retail trade and health care & social. Unemployment runs well above the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 87%
- Work from home 8%
- Transit, walk, or bike 5%
Life in 93309
93309 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 68% of zip codes. That concentrates in some parts of 93309 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 93309, month by month
93309 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 93309
The nearest airport, Meadows Field, is about 7 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Bob Hope, about 88 miles away.
The best schools in and around 93309
Schools across 93309 average a C, better than 57% of zip codes.
Top middle schools
- Fruitvale Junior HighD+ · 25% proficient
Top high schools
- West HighA+ · 90% proficient
- South HighA+ · 90% proficient
- Bakersfield HighB+ · 53% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 93309 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
93309 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 93309 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 93309 suits
Common questions about living in 93309
Is 93309 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 93309 ranks 22,073rd of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on the weather, transit, and biking, and lowest on air quality and civic engagement. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 93309 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $313,786. The overall cost of living runs about 4% above the national average. Set against a $73,152 median income, cost of living beats 24% of zip codes.
Is 93309 safe?
93309 is safer than 17% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $530 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 93309?
July highs average about 102 degrees, and January highs near 63 with lows near 40. That works out to about 176 pleasant days a year, more than 95% of zip codes.
Is 93309 good for families?
Schools beat 57% of zip codes, crime safety beats 17%, and childcare runs $1,172 a month.
Compare 93309 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 93309. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 93309 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.
93309 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 93309: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 93309: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 93309: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 93309: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
93309 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.