Best Places94520, CA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 94520, 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.
94520 ranks 19,919th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on the weather by a wide margin, and childcare costs are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 94520
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.
94520's strengths and weaknesses
Where 94520 ranks high
- Nice weatherabout 179 pleasant days a year, better than 96% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than 95% of zip codes
- Low vacancyBetter than 95% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than 94% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than 94% of zip codes
Where 94520 ranks low
- Cheap childcare$1,942 a month, better than only 1% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than only 3% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 5% of zip codes
- School gradeD, better than only 6% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 6% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 94520
A household needs to earn about $145,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 94520 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $92,673, 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 94520'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, buying tends to cost more than renting for about the first 9 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 94520
94520 runs younger than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 94520.
Who works in 94520, and how
Work in 94520 centers on health care & social and construction. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 76%
- Work from home 11%
- Transit, walk, or bike 13%
Life in 94520
94520 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 87% of zip codes and more parkland per resident than 72% of zip codes. The coast is about 29 minutes away. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 94520 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 94520, month by month
94520 sees roughly 179 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 94520
San Francisco Bay Oakland International sits about 20 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 94520
Schools across 94520 average a D, better than 6% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Monte Gardens ElementaryB · 46% proficient
- Hidden Valley ElementaryB− · 40% proficient
- Delta View ElementaryC · 31% proficient
Top middle schools
- Pleasant Hill MiddleB+ · 48% proficient
- Valley View MiddleB− · 42% proficient
- El Dorado MiddleD− · 16% proficient
Top high schools
- College Park HighB+ · 58% proficient
- Armijo HighC+ · 35% proficient
- Mt. Diablo HighC− · 28% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 94520 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
94520 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 94520 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 94520 suits
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 11% already work from home.
Common questions about living in 94520
Is 94520 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 94520 ranks 19,919th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on the weather, biking, and few empty homes, and lowest on childcare costs and noise. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 94520 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $571,142. The overall cost of living runs about 19% above the national average. Set against a $92,673 median income, cost of living beats 38% of zip codes.
Is 94520 safe?
94520 is safer than 14% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $577 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 94520?
July highs average about 92 degrees, and January highs near 61 with lows near 41. That works out to about 179 pleasant days a year, more than 96% of zip codes.
Is 94520 good for families?
Schools beat 6% of zip codes, crime safety beats 14%, and childcare runs $1,942 a month.
Compare 94520 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 94520. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 94520 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.
94520 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 94520: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 94520: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 94520: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 94520: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
94520 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.