Best PlacesCalifornia Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in California, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Distance to the water drives a lot of the difference between one part and the next. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
California ranks 30th of 50 U.S. states on the BestNeighborhood index. The coast is about 34 minutes away. Its strengths are the weather and biking. The cost shows up in civic engagement, noise, and air quality.
The best neighborhoods in California
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.
The best areas in California
The counties of California, grouped by direction and ranked by the BestNeighborhood standard score across every neighborhood in each. Each note says how that part differs from the rest of the state.
Santa Clara County
Incomes run higher, more adults hold degrees, and heat risk is lower.
Alameda County, Sacramento County & Contra Costa County
Local pay stretches further, though big-city amenities are further off.
San Diego County, Orange County & Riverside County
Prices have run up more.
Los Angeles County
Streets are more walkable, though crime runs higher.
Stanislaus County & El Dorado County
It is quieter, though biking is worse.
Fresno County, Kern County & Ventura County
Homes cost less and more households have young kids.
California shows why a single number is not enough. Some neighborhoods score in the bottom 1% of the country and others in the top 1%. Pick the area first, then the home.
California's strengths and weaknesses
California lands in the middle because its strengths and weaknesses roughly balance. The weather is the standout, in the top 1% of states. Biking and transit follow.
The one real hole is civic engagement, near the bottom of the country. Noise and air quality also cost it ground. The detail is below, and the map is where it turns into a choice of neighborhood rather than just a place.
Where California ranks high
- Nice weatherabout 228 pleasant days a year, better than 99% of states
- BikingBetter than 99% of states
- TransitBetter than 95% of states
- Big-city accessBetter than 95% of states
- Health outlookBetter than 93% of states
Where California ranks low
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 3% of states
- QuietBetter than only 6% of states
- Air qualityBetter than only 7% of states
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 7% of states
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 7% of states
What it costs to buy a home in California
A household needs to earn about $212,000 a year to comfortably buy the median California home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $110,835, 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 California's effective rate of 0.71%, 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 California
California'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 California.
Who works in California, and how
Work in California centers on health care & social and retail trade. 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 17%
- Transit, walk, or bike 8%
Life in California
California has fewer places to eat and drink per resident than most states and less parkland per resident than most states. California has 840 miles of ocean coastline. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of California and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in California, month by month
California sees roughly 228 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 85 degrees. January highs sit near 70, with lows near 48. Every month averages in that range.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 70° | 58° | 48° |
| April | 76° | 64° | 55° |
| July | 85° | 73° | 65° |
| October | 82° | 69° | 60° |
The best schools in and around California
Schools across California average a C+, better than 58% of states.
Top elementary schools
- Gonsalves (joe A.) ElementaryA+ · 95% proficient
- William Faria ElementaryA+ · 93% proficient
- Oak Grove ElementaryA+ · 93% proficient
Top middle schools
- Carmenita MiddleA+ · 98% proficient
- Petaluma Accelerated CharterA+ · 94% proficient
- ElkhornA+ · 92% proficient
Top high schools
- Lynbrook HighA+ · 98% proficient
- Cupertino HighA+ · 98% proficient
- California Academy Of Mathematics And ScienceA+ · 98% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every California school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
California 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 California against the other 49 states.
Who California suits
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 17% already work from home.
Common questions about living in California
Is California a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, California ranks 30th of 50 states. It scores highest on the weather, biking, and transit, and lowest on civic engagement and noise. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is California expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $822,414. The overall cost of living runs about 32% above the national average. Set against a $110,835 median income, cost of living beats 19% of states.
Is California safe?
California is safer than 19% of states. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $450 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in California?
July highs average about 85 degrees, and January highs near 70 with lows near 48. That works out to about 228 pleasant days a year, more than 99% of states.
What are the best areas in California?
Using the default rankings, the highest-scoring areas are Santa Clara County, Alameda County, Sacramento County & Contra Costa County, and San Diego County, Orange County & Riverside County. The ranked list and the re-weightable map above let you re-sort them for your own priorities.
Is California good for families?
Schools beat 58% of states, crime safety beats 19%, and childcare runs $1,423 a month.
Is California good for remote workers?
Cost of living against local pay beats 19% of states, and the fastest advertised internet here beats 80% of states. About 17% of workers already work from home.
Compare California with other states
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to California. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in California 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.
California detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for California: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in California: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of California: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in California: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
California 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.
- 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.