Best PlacesBay Terraces, San Diego, CA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Bay Terraces, San Diego, 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.
Bay Terraces, San Diego ranks 1,962nd of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on the weather by a wide margin, and cell coverage ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Bay Terraces, San Diego
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.
Bay Terraces, San Diego's strengths and weaknesses
Where Bay Terraces, San Diego ranks high
- Nice weatherabout 285 pleasant days a year, better than 96% of neighborhoods
- Low vacancyBetter than 92% of neighborhoods
- Local economyBetter than 86% of neighborhoods
- Low property taxBetter than 83% of neighborhoods
- Health outlookBetter than 73% of neighborhoods
Where Bay Terraces, San Diego ranks low
- Cell coverageBetter than only 12% of neighborhoods
- Air qualityBetter than only 15% of neighborhoods
- BikingBetter than only 16% of neighborhoods
- WalkabilityBetter than only 18% of neighborhoods
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 20% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in Bay Terraces, San Diego
A household needs to earn about $160,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Bay Terraces, San Diego home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $104,026, 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 Bay Terraces, San Diego'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, buying tends to cost more than renting for about the first 10 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Bay Terraces, San Diego
Bay Terraces, San Diego's age mix sits close to the national median, 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 Bay Terraces, San Diego.
Who works in Bay Terraces, San Diego, and how
Work in Bay Terraces, San Diego centers on health care & social and education. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 86%
- Work from home 9%
- Transit, walk, or bike 5%
Life in Bay Terraces, San Diego
The coast is about 12 minutes away. Distance to the water changes a lot across Bay Terraces, San Diego, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Bay Terraces, San Diego, month by month
Bay Terraces, San Diego sees roughly 285 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 81 degrees. January highs sit near 69, with lows near 43. Every month averages in that range.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 69° | 55° | 43° |
| April | 74° | 60° | 50° |
| July | 81° | 70° | 62° |
| October | 81° | 67° | 55° |
Flying in and out of Bay Terraces, San Diego
San Diego International sits about 9 miles away. It is a large hub and boarded 12.7 million passengers in 2025, with 121 nonstop destinations.
Bay Terraces, San Diego 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 Bay Terraces, San Diego against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Who Bay Terraces, San Diego suits
Retirees
The weather beats 96% of neighborhoods and it is quieter than 70%.
Common questions about living in Bay Terraces, San Diego
Is Bay Terraces, San Diego a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Bay Terraces, San Diego ranks 1,962nd of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on the weather, few empty homes, and a strong job market, and lowest on cell coverage and air quality. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Bay Terraces, San Diego expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $629,138. The overall cost of living runs about 27% above the national average. Set against a $104,026 median income, cost of living beats 46% of neighborhoods.
Is Bay Terraces, San Diego safe?
Yes, Bay Terraces, San Diego is safer than 67% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $384 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Bay Terraces, San Diego?
July highs average about 81 degrees, and January highs near 69 with lows near 43. That works out to about 285 pleasant days a year, more than 96% of neighborhoods.
Is Bay Terraces, San Diego good for families?
Schools beat 68% of neighborhoods, crime safety beats 67%, and childcare runs $1,432 a month.
Compare Bay Terraces, San Diego with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Bay Terraces, San Diego. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Bay Terraces, San Diego 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.
Bay Terraces, San Diego detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Bay Terraces, San Diego: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Bay Terraces, San Diego: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Bay Terraces, San Diego: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Bay Terraces, San Diego: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Bay Terraces, San Diego 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.