Best Places93435, CA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 93435, 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.
93435 ranks 21,469th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on quiet by a wide margin, and civic engagement ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 93435
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.
93435's strengths and weaknesses
Where 93435 ranks high
- QuietBetter than 97% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 160 pleasant days a year, better than 92% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than 91% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than 83% of zip codes
- Educational attainmentBetter than 79% of zip codes
Where 93435 ranks low
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 1% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 4% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than only 5% of zip codes
- Internet speedBetter than only 6% of zip codes
- Heat safetyBetter than only 8% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 93435
A household needs to earn about $235,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 93435 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $82,021, 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 93435's effective rate of 0.49%, 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 93435
93435 runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 93435.
Who works in 93435, and how
Work in 93435 centers on hospitality & food and professional & technical. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 72%
- Work from home 22%
- Transit, walk, or bike 6%
Life in 93435
The coast is about 9 minutes away. Distance to the water changes a lot across 93435, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 93435, month by month
93435 sees roughly 160 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 97 degrees. January highs sit near 63, with lows near 36. The comfortable stretch runs April through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 63° | 48° | 36° |
| April | 77° | 57° | 41° |
| July | 97° | 73° | 54° |
| October | 85° | 62° | 43° |
Flying in and out of 93435
The nearest airport, San Luis Obispo County Regional, is about 28 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Norman Y Mineta San Jose International, about 138 miles away.
The best schools in and around 93435
Schools across 93435 average a C+, better than 42% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Cayucos ElementaryB · 50% proficient
- Cambria GrammarD · 20% proficient
Top middle schools
- Santa Lucia MiddleC− · 28% proficient
Top high schools
- Morro Bay HighB · 48% proficient
- Coast Union HighC− · 30% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 93435 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
93435 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 93435 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 93435
Is 93435 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 93435 ranks 21,469th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on quiet, the weather, and clean air, and lowest on civic engagement and an overheated housing market. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 93435 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $937,500. The overall cost of living runs about 36% above the national average. Set against a $82,021 median income, cost of living beats 12% of zip codes.
Is 93435 safe?
93435 is safer than 46% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $323 per resident a year.
Compare 93435 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 93435. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 93435 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.
93435 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 93435: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 93435: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 93435: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 93435: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
93435 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.