Best Places94940, CA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 94940, 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.
94940 ranks 22,924th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on clean air by a wide margin, and internet speeds rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 94940
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.
94940's strengths and weaknesses
Where 94940 ranks high
- Air qualityBetter than 96% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 168 pleasant days a year, better than 94% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than 91% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than 88% of zip codes
- Educational attainmentBetter than 86% of zip codes
Where 94940 ranks low
- Internet speedBetter than only 1% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$2,211 a month, better than only 1% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than only 3% of zip codes
- Cell coverageBetter than only 3% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than only 5% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 94940
A household needs to earn about $397,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 94940 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $105,625, 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 94940's effective rate of 0.51%, 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 94940
94940 runs older 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 94940.
Who works in 94940, and how
Work in 94940 centers on admin & support services and public administration. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 62%
- Work from home 21%
- Transit, walk, or bike 17%
Life in 94940
The coast is about 19 minutes away. Distance to the water changes a lot across 94940, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 94940, month by month
94940 sees roughly 168 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 81 degrees. January highs sit near 58, with lows near 41. The comfortable stretch runs May through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 58° | 48° | 41° |
| April | 67° | 54° | 44° |
| July | 81° | 63° | 52° |
| October | 76° | 59° | 47° |
Flying in and out of 94940
The nearest airport, Charles M Schulz/Sonoma County, is about 25 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is San Francisco International, about 45 miles away.
The best schools in and around 94940
Schools across 94940 average a C+, better than 44% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- NicasioC− · 29% proficient
- Tomales ElementaryC− · 25% proficient
- Laguna ElementaryD+ · 25% proficient
Top middle schools
- West Marin ElementaryC− · 30% proficient
Top high schools
- Tamalpais HighA− · 64% proficient
- Tomales HighD+ · 25% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 94940 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
94940 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 94940 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 94940
Is 94940 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 94940 ranks 22,924th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on clean air, the weather, and health care access, and lowest on internet speeds and childcare costs. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 94940 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $1,584,000. The overall cost of living runs about 47% above the national average. Set against a $105,625 median income, cost of living beats 61% of zip codes.
Is 94940 safe?
94940 is safer than 9% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $666 per resident a year.
Compare 94940 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 94940. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 94940 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.
94940 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 94940: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 94940: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 94940: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 94940: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
94940 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.