Best Places93440, CA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 93440, 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.
93440 ranks 20,865th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on the weather by a wide margin, and an overheated housing market is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 93440
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.
93440's strengths and weaknesses
Where 93440 ranks high
- Nice weatherabout 191 pleasant days a year, better than 97% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than 95% of zip codes
- Internet speedBetter than 89% of zip codes
- Short commute20.3 minutes each way, better than 84% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than 84% of zip codes
Where 93440 ranks low
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 2% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$1,613 a month, better than only 4% of zip codes
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 10% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 11% of zip codes
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 19% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 93440
A household needs to earn about $227,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 93440 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $80,268, 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 93440's effective rate of 0.48%, 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 93440
93440 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 93440.
Who works in 93440, and how
Work in 93440 centers on manufacturing and retail trade. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 82%
- Work from home 12%
- Transit, walk, or bike 6%
Life in 93440
93440 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 94% of zip codes. The coast is about 24 minutes away. That concentrates in some parts of 93440 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 93440, month by month
93440 sees roughly 191 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 71 degrees. January highs sit near 67, with lows near 40. The comfortable stretch runs April through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 67° | 52° | 40° |
| April | 69° | 56° | 45° |
| July | 71° | 61° | 54° |
| October | 76° | 60° | 47° |
Flying in and out of 93440
The nearest airport, Santa Maria Public/Capt G Allan Hancock Field, is about 15 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Bob Hope, about 115 miles away.
The best schools in and around 93440
Schools across 93440 average a C+, better than 47% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Los Olivos ElementaryA · 70% proficient
- Arthur Hapgood ElementaryF · 10% proficient
Top middle schools
- Lompoc Valley MiddleD · 22% proficient
Top high schools
- Lompoc HighB · 50% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 93440 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
93440 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 93440 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 93440
Is 93440 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 93440 ranks 20,865th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on the weather, clean air, and fast internet, 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 93440 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $907,324. The overall cost of living runs about 26% above the national average. Set against a $80,268 median income, cost of living beats 19% of zip codes.
Is 93440 safe?
93440 is safer than 19% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $502 per resident a year.
Compare 93440 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 93440. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 93440 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.
93440 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 93440: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 93440: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 93440: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 93440: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
93440 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.