Best Places93901, CA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 93901, 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.
93901 ranks 12,888th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on the weather by a wide margin, and disaster risk is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 93901
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.
93901's strengths and weaknesses
Where 93901 ranks high
- Nice weatherabout 225 pleasant days a year, better than 98% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than 96% of zip codes
- Cell coverageBetter than 96% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than 95% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than 94% of zip codes
Where 93901 ranks low
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 7% of zip codes
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 10% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 11% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$1,371 a month, better than only 11% of zip codes
- Tree shadeBetter than only 14% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 93901
A household needs to earn about $188,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 93901 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $90,452, 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 93901's effective rate of 0.53%, 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 93901
93901 runs younger than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 93901.
Who works in 93901, and how
Work in 93901 centers on health care & social and agriculture & forestry. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 87%
- Work from home 7%
- Transit, walk, or bike 6%
Life in 93901
93901 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 81% of zip codes. The coast is about 15 minutes away. That concentrates in some parts of 93901 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 93901, month by month
93901 sees roughly 225 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 72 degrees. January highs sit near 64, with lows near 42. The comfortable stretch runs April through November.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 64° | 52° | 42° |
| April | 69° | 56° | 47° |
| July | 72° | 62° | 55° |
| October | 78° | 61° | 50° |
Flying in and out of 93901
The nearest airport, Monterey Regional, is about 12 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Norman Y Mineta San Jose International, about 50 miles away.
The best schools in and around 93901
Schools across 93901 average a C+, better than 52% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Spreckels ElementaryB− · 44% proficient
Top middle schools
- Buena Vista MiddleA− · 54% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 93901 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
93901 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 93901 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 93901 suits
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 7% already work from home.
Common questions about living in 93901
Is 93901 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 93901 ranks 12,888th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on the weather, biking, and cell coverage, and lowest on disaster risk and taxes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 93901 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $747,739. The overall cost of living runs about 22% above the national average. Set against a $90,452 median income, cost of living beats 31% of zip codes.
Is 93901 safe?
93901 is safer than 14% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $693 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 93901?
July highs average about 72 degrees, and January highs near 64 with lows near 42. That works out to about 225 pleasant days a year, more than 98% of zip codes.
Is 93901 good for families?
Schools beat 52% of zip codes, crime safety beats 14%, and childcare runs $1,371 a month.
Compare 93901 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 93901. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 93901 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.
93901 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 93901: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 93901: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 93901: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 93901: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
93901 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.