Best PlacesAlma, San Jose, CA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Alma, San Jose, 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.
Alma, San Jose ranks 3,701st of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on the weather by a wide margin, and noise is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Alma, San Jose
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.
Alma, San Jose's strengths and weaknesses
Where Alma, San Jose ranks high
- Nice weatherabout 227 pleasant days a year, better than 91% of neighborhoods
- Local economyBetter than 88% of neighborhoods
- Low property taxBetter than 84% of neighborhoods
- Big-city accessBetter than 80% of neighborhoods
- School gradeB−, better than 74% of neighborhoods
Where Alma, San Jose ranks low
- QuietBetter than only 1% of neighborhoods
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 1% of neighborhoods
- Cheap childcare$2,106 a month, better than only 4% of neighborhoods
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 9% of neighborhoods
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 12% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in Alma, San Jose
A household needs to earn about $197,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Alma, San Jose home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $100,973, 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 Alma, San Jose's effective rate of 0.61%, 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 Alma, San Jose
Alma, San Jose runs younger than the country, and households here run larger than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Alma, San Jose.
Who works in Alma, San Jose, and how
Work in Alma, San Jose centers on hospitality & food and manufacturing. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 88%
- Work from home 5%
- Transit, walk, or bike 8%
Life in Alma, San Jose
The coast is about 28 minutes away. Distance to the water changes a lot across Alma, San Jose, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Alma, San Jose, month by month
Alma, San Jose sees roughly 227 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 85 degrees. January highs sit near 61, with lows near 44. The comfortable stretch runs February through November.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 61° | 54° | 44° |
| April | 71° | 62° | 50° |
| July | 85° | 75° | 60° |
| October | 78° | 68° | 54° |
Flying in and out of Alma, San Jose
Norman Y Mineta San Jose International sits about 5 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 Alma, San Jose
Schools across Alma, San Jose average a B−, better than 74% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Ernesto Galarza ElementaryD · 18% proficient
Top middle schools
- Willow Glen MiddleB+ · 48% proficient
Top high schools
- Evergreen Valley HighA · 80% proficient
- Middle College HighA · 75% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Alma, San Jose school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Alma, San Jose 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 Alma, San Jose against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in Alma, San Jose
Is Alma, San Jose a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Alma, San Jose ranks 3,701st of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on the weather, a strong job market, and low property taxes, and lowest on noise and disaster risk. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Alma, San Jose expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $773,261. The overall cost of living runs about 58% above the national average. Set against a $100,973 median income, cost of living beats 24% of neighborhoods.
Is Alma, San Jose safe?
Yes, Alma, San Jose is safer than 72% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $342 per resident a year.
Compare Alma, San Jose with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Alma, San Jose. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Alma, San Jose 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.
Alma, San Jose detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Alma, San Jose: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Alma, San Jose: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Alma, San Jose: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Alma, San Jose: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Alma, San Jose 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.