Best Places93420, CA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 93420, 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.
93420 ranks 4,433rd of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on the weather by a wide margin, and childcare costs are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 93420
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.
93420's strengths and weaknesses
Where 93420 ranks high
- Nice weatherabout 209 pleasant days a year, better than 98% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than 92% of zip codes
- Household income$117,016 median, better than 89% of zip codes
- Educational attainmentBetter than 85% of zip codes
- Health outlookBetter than 84% of zip codes
Where 93420 ranks low
- Cheap childcare$1,391 a month, better than only 10% of zip codes
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 10% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 14% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 20% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 24% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 93420
A household needs to earn about $241,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 93420 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $117,016, 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 93420's effective rate of 0.62%, 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 93420
93420 runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 93420.
Who works in 93420, and how
Work in 93420 centers on education and health care & social. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 78%
- Work from home 16%
- Transit, walk, or bike 6%
Life in 93420
The coast is about 6 minutes away. Distance to the water changes a lot across 93420, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 93420, month by month
93420 sees roughly 209 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 81 degrees. January highs sit near 68, with lows near 42. The comfortable stretch runs March through November.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 68° | 54° | 42° |
| April | 72° | 57° | 47° |
| July | 81° | 64° | 54° |
| October | 82° | 63° | 51° |
Flying in and out of 93420
The nearest airport, San Luis Obispo County Regional, is about 9 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Bob Hope, about 141 miles away.
The best schools in and around 93420
Schools across 93420 average a B−, better than 53% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Pacheco ElementaryC · 32% proficient
- Cuyama ElementaryD− · 14% proficient
Top middle schools
- Teach ElementaryA+ · 80% proficient
- Mesa MiddleD+ · 25% proficient
Top high schools
- San Luis Obispo HighB+ · 52% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 93420 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
93420 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 93420 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 93420 suits
Families
Schools land around the 53rd percentile and crime safety beats 70%.
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 16% already work from home.
Retirees
The weather beats 98% of zip codes and health care access beats 79%.
Common questions about living in 93420
Is 93420 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 93420 ranks 4,433rd of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on the weather, clean air, and high incomes, and lowest on childcare costs and taxes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 93420 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $943,990. The overall cost of living runs about 26% above the national average. Set against a $117,016 median income, cost of living beats 66% of zip codes.
Is 93420 safe?
Yes, 93420 is safer than 70% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $273 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 93420?
July highs average about 81 degrees, and January highs near 68 with lows near 42. That works out to about 209 pleasant days a year, more than 98% of zip codes.
Is 93420 good for families?
Schools beat 53% of zip codes, crime safety beats 70%, and childcare runs $1,391 a month.
Compare 93420 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 93420. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 93420 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.
93420 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 93420: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 93420: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 93420: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 93420: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
93420 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.