Best Places93953, CA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 93953, 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.
93953 ranks 4,105th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on health care access by a wide margin, and an overheated housing market is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 93953
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.
93953's strengths and weaknesses
Where 93953 ranks high
- Healthcare accessBetter than 99% of zip codes
- Educational attainmentBetter than 99% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 215 pleasant days a year, better than 98% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than 96% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than 95% of zip codes
Where 93953 ranks low
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 5% of zip codes
- Low vacancyBetter than only 8% of zip codes
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 10% of zip codes
- Local economyBetter than only 11% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$1,371 a month, better than only 11% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 93953
A household needs to earn about $482,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 93953 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $140,224, 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 93953's effective rate of 0.63%, 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 93953
93953 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 93953.
Who works in 93953, and how
Work in 93953 centers on education and professional & technical. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 49%
- Work from home 28%
- Transit, walk, or bike 24%
Life in 93953
93953 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 82% of zip codes. The coast is about 5 minutes away. That concentrates in some parts of 93953 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 93953, month by month
93953 sees roughly 215 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 69 degrees. January highs sit near 63, with lows near 43. The comfortable stretch runs April through November.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 63° | 52° | 43° |
| April | 65° | 56° | 48° |
| July | 69° | 60° | 54° |
| October | 72° | 60° | 50° |
Flying in and out of 93953
The nearest airport, Monterey Regional, is about 6 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Norman Y Mineta San Jose International, about 53 miles away.
The best schools in and around 93953
Schools across 93953 average a B+, better than 72% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Carmel River ElementaryA · 66% proficient
Top middle schools
- Carmel MiddleA · 66% proficient
Top high schools
- Carmel HighA · 70% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 93953 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
93953 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 93953 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 93953
Is 93953 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 93953 ranks 4,105th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on health care access, an educated workforce, and the weather, and lowest on an overheated housing market and empty homes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 93953 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $1,887,672. The overall cost of living runs about 86% above the national average. Set against a $140,224 median income, cost of living beats 53% of zip codes.
Is 93953 safe?
93953 is safer than 37% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $375 per resident a year.
Compare 93953 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 93953. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 93953 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.
93953 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 93953: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 93953: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 93953: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 93953: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
93953 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.