Best PlacesBrentwood, CA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Brentwood, 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.
Brentwood ranks 456th of 2,098 U.S. cities on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on few empty homes by a wide margin, and long commutes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Brentwood
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.
Brentwood's strengths and weaknesses
Where Brentwood ranks high
- Low vacancyBetter than 96% of cities
- Household income$148,024 median, better than 91% of cities
- BikingBetter than 90% of cities
- Nice weatherabout 173 pleasant days a year, better than 87% of cities
- Air qualityBetter than 84% of cities
Where Brentwood ranks low
- Short commute39.8 minutes each way, better than only 1% of cities
- Cheap childcare$1,942 a month, better than only 3% of cities
- Tree shadeBetter than only 10% of cities
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 14% of cities
- State infrastructureBetter than only 24% of cities
What it costs to buy a home in Brentwood
A household needs to earn about $221,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Brentwood home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $148,024, 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 Brentwood's effective rate of 0.93%, 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 Brentwood
Brentwood'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 Brentwood.
Who works in Brentwood, and how
Work in Brentwood centers on health care & social and professional & technical. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 76%
- Work from home 18%
- Transit, walk, or bike 6%
Life in Brentwood
Brentwood has more restaurants and bars per resident than 78% of cities and more parkland per resident than 81% of cities. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Brentwood and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Brentwood, month by month
Brentwood sees roughly 173 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 92 degrees. January highs sit near 61, with lows near 38. The comfortable stretch runs April through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 61° | 49° | 38° |
| April | 73° | 57° | 45° |
| July | 92° | 71° | 57° |
| October | 82° | 64° | 49° |
Flying in and out of Brentwood
The nearest airport, Stockton Metro, is about 26 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is San Francisco Bay Oakland International, about 32 miles away.
The best schools in and around Brentwood
Schools across Brentwood average a B, better than 53% of cities.
Top elementary schools
- Knightsen ElementaryD · 20% proficient
Top middle schools
- William B. Bristow MiddleD+ · 25% proficient
- Excelsior MiddleD+ · 25% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Brentwood school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Brentwood 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 Brentwood against the other 2,097 cities.
Who Brentwood suits
Families
Schools land around the 53rd percentile and crime safety beats 75%.
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 79% of cities, internet is fast and widely advertised, and 18% already work from home.
Common questions about living in Brentwood
Is Brentwood a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Brentwood ranks 456th of 2,098 cities. It scores highest on few empty homes, high incomes, and biking, and lowest on long commutes and childcare costs. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Brentwood expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $829,535. The overall cost of living runs about 20% above the national average. Set against a $148,024 median income, cost of living beats 79% of cities.
Is Brentwood safe?
Yes, Brentwood is safer than 75% of cities. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $258 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Brentwood?
July highs average about 92 degrees, and January highs near 61 with lows near 38. That works out to about 173 pleasant days a year, more than 87% of cities.
Is Brentwood good for families?
Schools beat 53% of cities, crime safety beats 75%, and childcare runs $1,942 a month.
Compare Brentwood with other cities
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Brentwood. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Brentwood 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.
Brentwood detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Brentwood: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Brentwood: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Brentwood: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Brentwood: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Brentwood 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.