Best Places94801, CA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 94801, 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.
94801 ranks 19,583rd of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on fast internet by a wide margin, and childcare costs are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 94801
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.
94801's strengths and weaknesses
Where 94801 ranks high
- Internet speedBetter than 99% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than 98% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 204 pleasant days a year, better than 98% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than 97% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than 96% of zip codes
Where 94801 ranks low
- Cheap childcare$1,942 a month, better than only 1% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 2% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 3% of zip codes
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 4% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 6% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 94801
A household needs to earn about $156,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 94801 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $83,864, 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 94801's effective rate of 0.85%, 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 94801
94801 runs younger than the country, and households here run larger than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 94801.
Who works in 94801, and how
Work in 94801 centers on construction and retail trade. Unemployment runs well above the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 75%
- Work from home 12%
- Transit, walk, or bike 13%
Life in 94801
94801 has fewer places to eat and drink per resident than most zip codes and more parkland per resident than 84% of zip codes. The coast is about 18 minutes away. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 94801 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 94801, month by month
94801 sees roughly 204 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 74 degrees. January highs sit near 61, with lows near 43. The comfortable stretch runs March through November.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 61° | 52° | 43° |
| April | 68° | 57° | 49° |
| July | 74° | 63° | 56° |
| October | 76° | 63° | 51° |
Flying in and out of 94801
San Francisco Bay Oakland International sits about 17 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 94801
Schools across 94801 average a C+, better than 56% of zip codes.
Top high schools
- Middle College HighA · 75% proficient
- Leadership Public Schools: RichmondD · 22% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 94801 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
94801 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 94801 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 94801 suits
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 12% already work from home.
Common questions about living in 94801
Is 94801 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 94801 ranks 19,583rd of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on fast internet, biking, and the weather, 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 94801 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $593,217. The overall cost of living runs about 21% above the national average. Set against a $83,864 median income, cost of living beats 21% of zip codes.
Is 94801 safe?
94801 is safer than 17% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $535 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 94801?
July highs average about 74 degrees, and January highs near 61 with lows near 43. That works out to about 204 pleasant days a year, more than 98% of zip codes.
Is 94801 good for families?
Schools beat 56% of zip codes, crime safety beats 17%, and childcare runs $1,942 a month.
Compare 94801 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 94801. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 94801 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.
94801 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 94801: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 94801: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 94801: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 94801: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
94801 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.