Best Places94040, CA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 94040, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Local pay runs high here, and housing takes the biggest bite out of it. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
94040 ranks 379th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on population health by a wide margin, and childcare costs are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 94040
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.
94040's strengths and weaknesses
Where 94040 ranks high
- Health outlookBetter than 99% of zip codes
- Household income$194,273 median, better than 99% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than 99% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 242 pleasant days a year, better than 99% of zip codes
- Educational attainmentBetter than 98% of zip codes
Where 94040 ranks low
- Cheap childcare$2,106 a month, better than only 1% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 10% of zip codes
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 10% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than only 15% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 20% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 94040
A household needs to earn about $406,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 94040 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $194,273, 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 94040's effective rate of 0.68%, 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 94040
94040 runs younger 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 94040.
Who works in 94040, and how
Work in 94040 centers on professional & technical and information. Unemployment is low, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 56%
- Work from home 32%
- Transit, walk, or bike 12%
Life in 94040
94040 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 70% of zip codes and more parkland per resident than 65% of zip codes. The coast is about 30 minutes away. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 94040 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 94040, month by month
94040 sees roughly 242 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 76 degrees. January highs sit near 60, with lows near 44. The comfortable stretch runs March through November.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 60° | 51° | 44° |
| April | 70° | 58° | 49° |
| July | 76° | 66° | 59° |
| October | 74° | 63° | 54° |
Flying in and out of 94040
Norman Y Mineta San Jose International sits about 9 miles away. It is a medium hub and boarded 5.3 million passengers in 2025, with 67 nonstop destinations.
The best schools in and around 94040
Schools across 94040 average a B+, better than 82% of zip codes.
Top middle schools
- Georgina P. Blach Junior HighD+ · 25% proficient
Top high schools
- Homestead HighA+ · 88% proficient
- Mountain View HighA+ · 86% proficient
- Los Altos HighA · 79% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 94040 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
94040 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 94040 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 94040 suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 88% of zip codes, internet is fast and widely advertised, and 32% already work from home.
Common questions about living in 94040
Is 94040 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 94040 ranks 379th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on population health, high incomes, and biking, and lowest on childcare costs and disaster risk. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 94040 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $1,580,131. The overall cost of living runs about 77% above the national average. Set against a $194,273 median income, cost of living beats 88% of zip codes.
Is 94040 safe?
94040 is safer than 43% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $373 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 94040?
July highs average about 76 degrees, and January highs near 60 with lows near 44. That works out to about 242 pleasant days a year, more than 99% of zip codes.
Is 94040 good for families?
Schools beat 82% of zip codes, crime safety beats 43%, and childcare runs $2,106 a month.
Compare 94040 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 94040. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 94040 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.
94040 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 94040: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 94040: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 94040: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 94040: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
94040 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.