Best PlacesDowntown San Francisco, San Francisco, CA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Downtown San Francisco, San Francisco, 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.
Downtown San Francisco, San Francisco ranks 3,422nd of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on walkability by a wide margin, and childcare costs are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Downtown San Francisco, San Francisco
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.
Downtown San Francisco, San Francisco's strengths and weaknesses
Where Downtown San Francisco, San Francisco ranks high
- WalkabilityBetter than 99% of neighborhoods
- TransitBetter than 99% of neighborhoods
- BikingBetter than 96% of neighborhoods
- Cell coverageBetter than 92% of neighborhoods
- Nice weatherabout 222 pleasant days a year, better than 90% of neighborhoods
Where Downtown San Francisco, San Francisco ranks low
- Cheap childcare$2,438 a month, better than only 1% of neighborhoods
- Tree shadeBetter than only 2% of neighborhoods
- Crime safetyBetter than only 3% of neighborhoods
- Low vacancyBetter than only 10% of neighborhoods
- Local economyBetter than only 12% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in Downtown San Francisco, San Francisco
A household needs to earn about $279,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Downtown San Francisco, San Francisco home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $71,593, 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 Downtown San Francisco, San Francisco's effective rate of 0.78%, 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 Downtown San Francisco, San Francisco
Downtown San Francisco, San Francisco runs older 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 Downtown San Francisco, San Francisco.
Who works in Downtown San Francisco, San Francisco, and how
Work in Downtown San Francisco, San Francisco centers on professional & technical and hospitality & food. Unemployment runs well above the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 14%
- Work from home 21%
- Transit, walk, or bike 65%
Life in Downtown San Francisco, San Francisco
Downtown San Francisco, San Francisco has more restaurants and bars per resident than 85% of neighborhoods and more late-night spots per resident than 75% of neighborhoods. The coast is about 6 minutes away. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Downtown San Francisco, San Francisco and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Downtown San Francisco, San Francisco, month by month
Downtown San Francisco, San Francisco sees roughly 222 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 74 degrees. January highs sit near 61, with lows near 43. The comfortable stretch runs March through November.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 61° | 52° | 43° |
| April | 68° | 57° | 49° |
| July | 74° | 63° | 56° |
| October | 76° | 63° | 51° |
Flying in and out of Downtown San Francisco, San Francisco
San Francisco Bay Oakland International sits about 11 miles away. It is a medium hub and boarded 4.5 million passengers in 2025, with 64 nonstop destinations.
The best schools in and around Downtown San Francisco, San Francisco
Schools across Downtown San Francisco, San Francisco average a B−, better than 61% of neighborhoods.
Top high schools
- Berkeley HighA+ · 84% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Downtown San Francisco, San Francisco school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Downtown San Francisco, San Francisco 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 Downtown San Francisco, San Francisco against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Who Downtown San Francisco, San Francisco suits
Common questions about living in Downtown San Francisco, San Francisco
Is Downtown San Francisco, San Francisco a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Downtown San Francisco, San Francisco ranks 3,422nd of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on walkability, transit, and biking, and lowest on childcare costs and tree cover. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Downtown San Francisco, San Francisco expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $1,071,278. The overall cost of living runs about 46% above the national average. Set against a $71,593 median income, cost of living beats 15% of neighborhoods.
Is Downtown San Francisco, San Francisco safe?
Downtown San Francisco, San Francisco is safer than 3% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $1,233 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Downtown San Francisco, San Francisco?
July highs average about 74 degrees, and January highs near 61 with lows near 43. That works out to about 222 pleasant days a year, more than 90% of neighborhoods.
Is Downtown San Francisco, San Francisco good for families?
Schools beat 61% of neighborhoods, crime safety beats 3%, and childcare runs $2,438 a month.
Compare Downtown San Francisco, San Francisco with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Downtown San Francisco, San Francisco. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Downtown San Francisco, San Francisco 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.
Downtown San Francisco, San Francisco detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Downtown San Francisco, San Francisco: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Downtown San Francisco, San Francisco: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Downtown San Francisco, San Francisco: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Downtown San Francisco, San Francisco: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Downtown San Francisco, San Francisco 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.