Best Places94086, CA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 94086, 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.
94086 ranks 299th 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 94086
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.
94086's strengths and weaknesses
Where 94086 ranks high
- Health outlookBetter than 99% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 241 pleasant days a year, better than 99% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than 98% of zip codes
- Household income$178,250 median, better than 98% of zip codes
- Educational attainmentBetter than 97% of zip codes
Where 94086 ranks low
- Cheap childcare$2,106 a month, better than only 1% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 9% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 9% of zip codes
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 10% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than only 16% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 94086
A household needs to earn about $412,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 94086 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $178,250, 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 94086's effective rate of 0.61%, 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 94086
94086 runs younger than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 94086.
Who works in 94086, and how
Work in 94086 centers on professional & technical and information. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 62%
- Work from home 26%
- Transit, walk, or bike 12%
Life in 94086
The coast is about 32 minutes away. Distance to the water changes a lot across 94086, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 94086, month by month
94086 sees roughly 241 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 94086
Norman Y Mineta San Jose International sits about 5 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 94086
Schools across 94086 average an A−, better than 82% of zip codes.
Top high schools
- Homestead HighA+ · 88% proficient
- Fremont HighA · 73% proficient
- Adrian Wilcox HighA− · 64% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 94086 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
94086 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 94086 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 94086 suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 84% of zip codes, internet is fast and widely advertised, and 26% already work from home.
Common questions about living in 94086
Is 94086 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 94086 ranks 299th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on population health, the weather, and biking, and lowest on childcare costs and civic engagement. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 94086 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $1,620,464. The overall cost of living runs about 69% above the national average. Set against a $178,250 median income, cost of living beats 84% of zip codes.
Is 94086 safe?
Yes, 94086 is safer than 84% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $222 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 94086?
July highs average about 76 degrees, and January highs near 60 with lows near 44. That works out to about 241 pleasant days a year, more than 99% of zip codes.
Is 94086 good for families?
Schools beat 82% of zip codes, crime safety beats 84%, and childcare runs $2,106 a month.
Compare 94086 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 94086. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 94086 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.
94086 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 94086: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 94086: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 94086: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 94086: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
94086 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.