Best Places94972, CA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 94972, 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.
94972 ranks 7,526th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on the weather by a wide margin, and empty homes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 94972
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.
94972's strengths and weaknesses
Where 94972 ranks high
- Nice weatherabout 214 pleasant days a year, better than 98% of zip codes
- Household income$162,483 median, better than 97% of zip codes
- Heat safetyBetter than 97% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than 97% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than 94% of zip codes
Where 94972 ranks low
- Low vacancyBetter than only 8% of zip codes
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 10% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 11% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$1,366 a month, better than only 11% of zip codes
- Tree shadeBetter than only 15% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 94972
A household needs to earn about $304,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 94972 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $162,483, 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 94972's effective rate of 0.60%, 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 94972
94972 runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 94972.
Who works in 94972, and how
Work in 94972 centers on agriculture & forestry and real estate. Unemployment runs well above the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 54%
- Work from home 33%
- Transit, walk, or bike 13%
Life in 94972
The coast is about 11 minutes away. Distance to the water changes a lot across 94972, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 94972, month by month
94972 sees roughly 214 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 63 degrees. January highs sit near 57, with lows near 46. The comfortable stretch runs July through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 57° | 51° | 46° |
| April | 57° | 51° | 47° |
| July | 63° | 55° | 51° |
| October | 63° | 55° | 50° |
Flying in and out of 94972
The nearest airport, Charles M Schulz/Sonoma County, is about 15 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is San Francisco Bay Oakland International, about 56 miles away.
The best schools in and around 94972
Schools across 94972 average a C+, better than 38% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Tomales ElementaryC− · 25% proficient
Top high schools
- Tomales HighD+ · 25% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 94972 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
94972 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 94972 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 94972
Is 94972 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 94972 ranks 7,526th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on the weather, high incomes, and heat safety, and lowest on empty homes and taxes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 94972 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $1,195,578. The overall cost of living runs about 47% above the national average. Set against a $162,483 median income, cost of living beats 86% of zip codes.
Is 94972 safe?
94972 is safer than 20% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $550 per resident a year.
Compare 94972 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 94972. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 94972 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.
94972 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 94972: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 94972: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 94972: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 94972: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
94972 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.