Best Places95117, CA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 95117, 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.
95117 ranks 4,015th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on biking by a wide margin, and childcare costs are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 95117
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.
95117's strengths and weaknesses
Where 95117 ranks high
- BikingBetter than 98% of zip codes
- Health outlookBetter than 98% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 196 pleasant days a year, better than 97% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than 95% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than 95% of zip codes
Where 95117 ranks low
- Cheap childcare$2,106 a month, better than only 1% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 4% of zip codes
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 10% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 10% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 12% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 95117
A household needs to earn about $358,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 95117 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $129,255, 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 95117's effective rate of 0.70%, 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 95117
95117 runs younger than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 95117.
Who works in 95117, and how
Work in 95117 centers on professional & technical and manufacturing. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 75%
- Work from home 19%
- Transit, walk, or bike 6%
Life in 95117
95117 has fewer places to eat and drink per resident than most zip codes. The coast is about 26 minutes away. That concentrates in some parts of 95117 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 95117, month by month
95117 sees roughly 196 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 84 degrees. January highs sit near 63, with lows near 42. The comfortable stretch runs March through November.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 63° | 52° | 42° |
| April | 73° | 59° | 48° |
| July | 84° | 69° | 58° |
| October | 80° | 65° | 53° |
Flying in and out of 95117
Norman Y Mineta San Jose International sits about 4 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 95117
Schools across 95117 average a B−, better than 60% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Discovery CharterA · 62% proficient
- Easterbrook DiscoveryB · 50% proficient
- Merritt Trace ElementaryC− · 26% proficient
Top middle schools
- Herbert Hoover MiddleC− · 29% proficient
Top high schools
- Middle College HighA · 75% proficient
- Prospect HighA · 71% proficient
- Westmont HighA · 68% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 95117 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
95117 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 95117 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 95117 suits
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 19% already work from home.
Common questions about living in 95117
Is 95117 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 95117 ranks 4,015th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on biking, population health, and the weather, and lowest on childcare costs and an overheated housing market. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 95117 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $1,389,681. The overall cost of living runs about 61% above the national average. Set against a $129,255 median income, cost of living beats 47% of zip codes.
Is 95117 safe?
Yes, 95117 is safer than 80% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $232 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 95117?
July highs average about 84 degrees, and January highs near 63 with lows near 42. That works out to about 196 pleasant days a year, more than 97% of zip codes.
Is 95117 good for families?
Schools beat 60% of zip codes, crime safety beats 80%, and childcare runs $2,106 a month.
Compare 95117 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 95117. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 95117 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.
95117 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 95117: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 95117: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 95117: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 95117: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
95117 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.