Best PlacesEl Camino, South San Francisco, CA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around El Camino, South 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.
El Camino, South San Francisco ranks 2,258th of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on the weather by a wide margin, and childcare costs are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in El Camino, South 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.
El Camino, South San Francisco's strengths and weaknesses
Where El Camino, South San Francisco ranks high
- Nice weatherabout 232 pleasant days a year, better than 92% of neighborhoods
- Big-city accessBetter than 84% of neighborhoods
- Air qualityBetter than 81% of neighborhoods
- Health outlookBetter than 81% of neighborhoods
- Household income$118,264 median, better than 80% of neighborhoods
Where El Camino, South San Francisco ranks low
- Cheap childcare$2,233 a month, better than only 2% of neighborhoods
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 5% of neighborhoods
- Tree shadeBetter than only 10% of neighborhoods
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 20% of neighborhoods
- QuietBetter than only 23% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in El Camino, South San Francisco
A household needs to earn about $319,000 a year to comfortably buy the median El Camino, South San Francisco home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $118,264, 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 El Camino, South San Francisco's effective rate of 0.65%, 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 El Camino, South San Francisco
El Camino, South San Francisco runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for El Camino, South San Francisco.
Who works in El Camino, South San Francisco, and how
Work in El Camino, South San Francisco centers on health care & social and transportation & warehousing. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 65%
- Work from home 25%
- Transit, walk, or bike 10%
Life in El Camino, South San Francisco
El Camino, South San Francisco has more restaurants and bars per resident than 76% of neighborhoods. The coast is about 5 minutes away. That concentrates in some parts of El Camino, South San Francisco and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in El Camino, South San Francisco, month by month
El Camino, South San Francisco sees roughly 232 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 74 degrees. January highs sit near 60, with lows near 46. The comfortable stretch runs April through November.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 60° | 53° | 46° |
| April | 68° | 57° | 49° |
| July | 74° | 62° | 56° |
| October | 75° | 62° | 54° |
Flying in and out of El Camino, South San Francisco
San Francisco International sits about 4 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 El Camino, South San Francisco
Schools across El Camino, South San Francisco average a C+, better than 51% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Buri Buri ElementaryB · 47% proficient
- Ponderosa ElementaryC+ · 38% proficient
- Rollingwood ElementaryC− · 30% proficient
Top middle schools
- Alta Loma MiddleC · 31% proficient
- Parkside IntermediateC− · 28% proficient
- Parkway Heights MiddleD · 21% proficient
Top high schools
- El Camino HighB · 50% proficient
- South San Francisco HighB− · 44% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every El Camino, South San Francisco school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
El Camino, South 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 El Camino, South San Francisco against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in El Camino, South San Francisco
Is El Camino, South San Francisco a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, El Camino, South San Francisco ranks 2,258th of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on the weather, big-city access, and clean air, 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 El Camino, South San Francisco expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $1,246,297. The overall cost of living runs about 44% above the national average. Set against a $118,264 median income, cost of living beats 56% of neighborhoods.
Is El Camino, South San Francisco safe?
El Camino, South San Francisco is safer than 29% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $668 per resident a year.
Compare El Camino, South San Francisco with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to El Camino, South San Francisco. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in El Camino, South 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.
El Camino, South San Francisco detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for El Camino, South San Francisco: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in El Camino, South San Francisco: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of El Camino, South San Francisco: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in El Camino, South San Francisco: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
El Camino, South 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.