Best Places95066, CA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 95066, 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.
95066 ranks 1,930th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on high incomes by a wide margin, and childcare costs are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 95066
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.
95066's strengths and weaknesses
Where 95066 ranks high
- Household income$155,322 median, better than 96% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than 96% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 180 pleasant days a year, better than 96% of zip codes
- Educational attainmentBetter than 93% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than 92% of zip codes
Where 95066 ranks low
- Cheap childcare$1,701 a month, better than only 2% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 8% of zip codes
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 10% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 16% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 20% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 95066
A household needs to earn about $299,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 95066 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $155,322, 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 95066's effective rate of 0.68%, 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 95066
95066 runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 95066.
Who works in 95066, and how
Work in 95066 centers on health care & social and professional & technical. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 66%
- Work from home 27%
- Transit, walk, or bike 8%
Life in 95066
95066 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 75% of zip codes and more parkland per resident than 74% of zip codes. The coast is about 8 minutes away. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 95066 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 95066, month by month
95066 sees roughly 180 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 95066
Norman Y Mineta San Jose International sits about 22 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 95066
Schools across 95066 average an A−, better than 84% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Brook Knoll ElementaryA− · 61% proficient
- Vine Hill ElementaryA− · 58% proficient
Top middle schools
- Scotts Valley MiddleA · 62% proficient
Top high schools
- Santa Cruz HighA · 75% proficient
- Scotts Valley HighB+ · 58% proficient
- San Lorenzo Valley HighB+ · 53% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 95066 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
95066 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 95066 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 95066
Is 95066 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 95066 ranks 1,930th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on high incomes, clean air, and the weather, 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 95066 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $1,165,198. The overall cost of living runs about 33% above the national average. Set against a $155,322 median income, cost of living beats 90% of zip codes.
Is 95066 safe?
95066 is safer than 35% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $384 per resident a year.
Compare 95066 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 95066. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 95066 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.
95066 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 95066: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 95066: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 95066: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 95066: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
95066 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.