Best Places95005, CA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 95005, 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.
95005 ranks 6,833rd 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 95005
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.
95005's strengths and weaknesses
Where 95005 ranks high
- Nice weatherabout 186 pleasant days a year, better than 96% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than 96% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than 91% of zip codes
- Household income$120,786 median, better than 90% of zip codes
- Health outlookBetter than 89% of zip codes
Where 95005 ranks low
- Cheap childcare$1,701 a month, better than only 2% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 10% of zip codes
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 10% of zip codes
- Local economyBetter than only 11% of zip codes
- Short commute32.6 minutes each way, better than only 18% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 95005
A household needs to earn about $267,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 95005 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $120,786, 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 95005's effective rate of 0.63%, 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 95005
95005 runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 95005.
Who works in 95005, and how
Work in 95005 centers on professional & technical and education. Unemployment runs well above the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 70%
- Work from home 21%
- Transit, walk, or bike 9%
Life in 95005
The coast is about 14 minutes away. Distance to the water changes a lot across 95005, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 95005, month by month
95005 sees roughly 186 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 73 degrees. January highs sit near 63, with lows near 40. The comfortable stretch runs April through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 63° | 50° | 40° |
| April | 68° | 55° | 44° |
| July | 73° | 60° | 53° |
| October | 77° | 60° | 48° |
Flying in and out of 95005
Norman Y Mineta San Jose International sits about 21 miles away. It is a medium hub and boarded 5.3 million passengers in 2025, with 67 nonstop destinations.
The best schools in and around 95005
Schools across 95005 average a B, better than 61% of zip codes.
Top high schools
- San Lorenzo Valley HighB+ · 53% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 95005 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
95005 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 95005 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 95005
Is 95005 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 95005 ranks 6,833rd of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on the weather, clean air, and big-city access, 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 95005 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $1,043,827. The overall cost of living runs about 30% above the national average. Set against a $120,786 median income, cost of living beats 70% of zip codes.
Is 95005 safe?
95005 is safer than 37% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $374 per resident a year.
Compare 95005 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 95005. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 95005 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.
95005 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 95005: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 95005: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 95005: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 95005: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
95005 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.