Best Places95126, CA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 95126, 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.
95126 ranks 3,195th 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 95126
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.
95126's strengths and weaknesses
Where 95126 ranks high
- BikingBetter than 99% of zip codes
- Health outlookBetter than 98% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than 97% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 196 pleasant days a year, better than 97% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than 97% of zip codes
Where 95126 ranks low
- Cheap childcare$2,106 a month, better than only 1% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 5% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than only 6% of zip codes
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 10% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 11% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 95126
A household needs to earn about $318,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 95126 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $138,002, 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 95126's effective rate of 0.75%, 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 95126
95126 runs younger 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 95126.
Who works in 95126, and how
Work in 95126 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 65%
- Work from home 22%
- Transit, walk, or bike 13%
Life in 95126
The coast is about 27 minutes away. Distance to the water changes a lot across 95126, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 95126, month by month
95126 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 95126
Norman Y Mineta San Jose International sits about 3 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 95126
Schools across 95126 average a C+, better than 57% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Booksin ElementaryA · 67% proficient
- Willow Glen ElementaryB− · 41% proficient
- River GlenC · 33% proficient
Top middle schools
- Willow Glen MiddleB+ · 48% proficient
- Herbert Hoover MiddleC− · 29% proficient
Top high schools
- Middle College HighA · 75% proficient
- Del Mar HighC+ · 40% proficient
- Abraham Lincoln HighC+ · 37% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 95126 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
95126 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 95126 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 95126 suits
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 22% already work from home.
Common questions about living in 95126
Is 95126 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 95126 ranks 3,195th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on biking, population health, and walkability, 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 95126 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $1,223,569. The overall cost of living runs about 54% above the national average. Set against a $138,002 median income, cost of living beats 65% of zip codes.
Is 95126 safe?
95126 is safer than 48% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $339 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 95126?
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 95126 good for families?
Schools beat 57% of zip codes, crime safety beats 48%, and childcare runs $2,106 a month.
Compare 95126 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 95126. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 95126 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.
95126 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 95126: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 95126: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 95126: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 95126: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
95126 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.