Best Places94518, CA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 94518, 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.
94518 ranks 11,059th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on few empty homes by a wide margin, and childcare costs are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 94518
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.
94518's strengths and weaknesses
Where 94518 ranks high
- Low vacancyBetter than 96% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 178 pleasant days a year, better than 95% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than 95% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than 94% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than 93% of zip codes
Where 94518 ranks low
- Cheap childcare$1,942 a month, better than only 1% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 7% of zip codes
- School gradeD, better than only 8% of zip codes
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 10% of zip codes
- Short commute32.9 minutes each way, better than only 17% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 94518
A household needs to earn about $207,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 94518 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $130,607, 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 94518's effective rate of 0.76%, 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 94518
94518's age mix sits close to the national median.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 94518.
Who works in 94518, and how
Work in 94518 centers on health care & social and professional & technical. Unemployment is low, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 67%
- Work from home 19%
- Transit, walk, or bike 14%
Life in 94518
94518 has fewer places to eat and drink per resident than most zip codes. The coast is about 29 minutes away. That concentrates in some parts of 94518 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 94518, month by month
94518 sees roughly 178 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 92 degrees. January highs sit near 61, with lows near 41. The comfortable stretch runs March through November.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 61° | 51° | 41° |
| April | 75° | 60° | 48° |
| July | 92° | 72° | 58° |
| October | 82° | 65° | 52° |
Flying in and out of 94518
San Francisco Bay Oakland International sits about 19 miles away. It is a medium hub and boarded 4.5 million passengers in 2025, with 64 nonstop destinations.
The best schools in and around 94518
Schools across 94518 average a D, better than 8% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Valle Verde ElementaryA− · 61% proficient
- Bancroft ElementaryA− · 56% proficient
- El Monte ElementaryD · 20% proficient
Top middle schools
- Foothill MiddleA · 63% proficient
- Pleasant Hill MiddleB+ · 48% proficient
- El Dorado MiddleD− · 16% proficient
Top high schools
- Northgate HighA · 70% proficient
- Concord HighC− · 28% proficient
- Mt. Diablo HighC− · 28% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 94518 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
94518 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 94518 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 94518 suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 77% of zip codes, internet is fast and widely advertised, and 19% already work from home.
Common questions about living in 94518
Is 94518 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 94518 ranks 11,059th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on few empty homes, the weather, and clean air, 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 94518 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $797,601. The overall cost of living runs about 27% above the national average. Set against a $130,607 median income, cost of living beats 77% of zip codes.
Is 94518 safe?
94518 is safer than 18% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $520 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 94518?
July highs average about 92 degrees, and January highs near 61 with lows near 41. That works out to about 178 pleasant days a year, more than 95% of zip codes.
Is 94518 good for families?
Schools beat 8% of zip codes, crime safety beats 18%, and childcare runs $1,942 a month.
Compare 94518 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 94518. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 94518 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.
94518 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 94518: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 94518: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 94518: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 94518: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
94518 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.