Best PlacesCity Heights East, San Diego, CA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around City Heights East, 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.
City Heights East, San Diego ranks 3,671st of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on the weather by a wide margin, and civic engagement ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in City Heights East, 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.
City Heights East, San Diego's strengths and weaknesses
Where City Heights East, San Diego ranks high
- Nice weatherabout 309 pleasant days a year, better than 98% of neighborhoods
- QuietBetter than 89% of neighborhoods
- Low property taxBetter than 83% of neighborhoods
- TransitBetter than 81% of neighborhoods
- WalkabilityBetter than 80% of neighborhoods
Where City Heights East, San Diego ranks low
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 3% of neighborhoods
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 4% of neighborhoods
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 6% of neighborhoods
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 7% of neighborhoods
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 7% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in City Heights East, San Diego
A household needs to earn about $170,000 a year to comfortably buy the median City Heights East, San Diego home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $60,434, 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 City Heights East, San Diego's effective rate of 0.62%, 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 City Heights East, San Diego
City Heights East, San Diego 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 City Heights East, San Diego.
Who works in City Heights East, San Diego, and how
Work in City Heights East, San Diego centers on hospitality & food and health care & social. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 80%
- Work from home 7%
- Transit, walk, or bike 13%
Life in City Heights East, San Diego
The coast is about 10 minutes away. Distance to the water changes a lot across City Heights East, San Diego, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in City Heights East, San Diego, month by month
City Heights East, San Diego sees roughly 309 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 82 degrees. January highs sit near 69, with lows near 45. Every month averages in that range.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 69° | 56° | 45° |
| April | 73° | 61° | 53° |
| July | 82° | 71° | 65° |
| October | 82° | 68° | 58° |
Flying in and out of City Heights East, San Diego
San Diego International sits about 6 miles away. It is a large hub and boarded 12.7 million passengers in 2025, with 121 nonstop destinations.
The best schools in and around City Heights East, San Diego
Schools across City Heights East, San Diego average a C−, better than 31% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Hamilton ElementaryD+ · 25% proficient
Top middle schools
- Clark MiddleD+ · 25% proficient
Top high schools
- Crawford HighD+ · 25% proficient
- City Heights Preparatory CharterF · 8% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every City Heights East, San Diego school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
City Heights East, 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 City Heights East, San Diego against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Who City Heights East, San Diego suits
Retirees
The weather beats 98% of neighborhoods and it is quieter than 89%.
Common questions about living in City Heights East, San Diego
Is City Heights East, San Diego a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, City Heights East, San Diego ranks 3,671st of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on the weather, quiet, and low property taxes, and lowest on civic engagement and thin health care access. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is City Heights East, San Diego expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $666,200. The overall cost of living runs about 30% above the national average. Set against a $60,434 median income, cost of living beats 6% of neighborhoods.
Is City Heights East, San Diego safe?
City Heights East, San Diego is safer than 32% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $607 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in City Heights East, San Diego?
July highs average about 82 degrees, and January highs near 69 with lows near 45. That works out to about 309 pleasant days a year, more than 98% of neighborhoods.
Is City Heights East, San Diego good for families?
Schools beat 31% of neighborhoods, crime safety beats 32%, and childcare runs $1,432 a month.
Compare City Heights East, San Diego with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to City Heights East, San Diego. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in City Heights East, 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.
City Heights East, San Diego detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for City Heights East, San Diego: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in City Heights East, San Diego: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of City Heights East, San Diego: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in City Heights East, San Diego: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
City Heights East, 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.