Best PlacesCentennial, Redwood City, CA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Centennial, Redwood City, 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.
Centennial, Redwood City ranks 608th of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on cell coverage by a wide margin, and childcare costs are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Centennial, Redwood City
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.
Centennial, Redwood City's strengths and weaknesses
Where Centennial, Redwood City ranks high
- Cell coverageBetter than 98% of neighborhoods
- Air qualityBetter than 98% of neighborhoods
- Health outlookBetter than 96% of neighborhoods
- Household income$170,090 median, better than 95% of neighborhoods
- Nice weatherabout 247 pleasant days a year, better than 94% of neighborhoods
Where Centennial, Redwood City ranks low
- Cheap childcare$2,233 a month, better than only 2% of neighborhoods
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 3% of neighborhoods
- QuietBetter than only 11% of neighborhoods
- Crime safetyBetter than only 12% of neighborhoods
- Tree shadeBetter than only 12% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in Centennial, Redwood City
A household needs to earn about $378,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Centennial, Redwood City home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $170,090, 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 Centennial, Redwood City's effective rate of 0.59%, 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 Centennial, Redwood City
Centennial, Redwood City 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 Centennial, Redwood City.
Who works in Centennial, Redwood City, and how
Work in Centennial, Redwood City centers on professional & technical and health care & social. Unemployment is low, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 55%
- Work from home 28%
- Transit, walk, or bike 17%
Life in Centennial, Redwood City
Centennial, Redwood City has more restaurants and bars per resident than 92% of neighborhoods and more late-night spots per resident than 87% of neighborhoods. The coast is about 20 minutes away. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Centennial, Redwood City and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Centennial, Redwood City, month by month
Centennial, Redwood City sees roughly 247 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 77 degrees. January highs sit near 59, with lows near 45. The comfortable stretch runs April through November.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 59° | 51° | 45° |
| April | 68° | 58° | 50° |
| July | 77° | 66° | 58° |
| October | 75° | 63° | 55° |
Flying in and out of Centennial, Redwood City
San Francisco International sits about 12 miles away. It is a large hub and boarded 26.5 million passengers in 2025, with 193 nonstop destinations.
The best schools in and around Centennial, Redwood City
Schools across Centennial, Redwood City average an A−, better than 83% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- White Oaks ElementaryA+ · 88% proficient
Top middle schools
- Central MiddleA+ · 68% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Centennial, Redwood City school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Centennial, Redwood City 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 Centennial, Redwood City against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in Centennial, Redwood City
Is Centennial, Redwood City a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Centennial, Redwood City ranks 608th of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on cell coverage, clean air, and population health, 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 Centennial, Redwood City expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $1,488,487. The overall cost of living runs about 56% above the national average. Set against a $170,090 median income, cost of living beats 83% of neighborhoods.
Is Centennial, Redwood City safe?
Centennial, Redwood City is safer than 12% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $835 per resident a year.
Compare Centennial, Redwood City with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Centennial, Redwood City. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Centennial, Redwood City 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.
Centennial, Redwood City detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Centennial, Redwood City: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Centennial, Redwood City: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Centennial, Redwood City: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Centennial, Redwood City: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Centennial, Redwood City 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.