Best PlacesEncinitas, CA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Encinitas, 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.
Encinitas ranks 161st of 2,098 U.S. cities on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on the weather by a wide margin, and an overheated housing market is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Encinitas
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.
Encinitas' strengths and weaknesses
Where Encinitas ranks high
- Nice weatherabout 336 pleasant days a year, better than 99% of cities
- Household income$162,411 median, better than 94% of cities
- Educational attainmentBetter than 92% of cities
- BikingBetter than 92% of cities
- Low property taxBetter than 88% of cities
Where Encinitas ranks low
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 2% of cities
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 14% of cities
- Cheap childcare$1,432 a month, better than only 21% of cities
- State infrastructureBetter than only 24% of cities
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 27% of cities
What it costs to buy a home in Encinitas
A household needs to earn about $395,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Encinitas home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $162,411, 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 Encinitas' effective rate of 0.57%, 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 Encinitas
Encinitas runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Encinitas.
Who works in Encinitas, and how
Work in Encinitas centers on professional & technical and education. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 59%
- Work from home 35%
- Transit, walk, or bike 6%
Life in Encinitas
Encinitas has more restaurants and bars per resident than 87% of cities and more parkland per resident than 82% of cities. The coast is about 4 minutes away. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Encinitas and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Encinitas, month by month
Encinitas sees roughly 336 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 75 degrees. January highs sit near 67, with lows near 47. Every month averages in that range.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 67° | 56° | 47° |
| April | 68° | 60° | 53° |
| July | 75° | 69° | 65° |
| October | 76° | 67° | 59° |
Flying in and out of Encinitas
The nearest airport, McClellan-Palomar, is about 5 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is San Diego International, about 23 miles away.
The best schools in and around Encinitas
Schools across Encinitas average a B+, better than 75% of cities.
Top elementary schools
- Pacific Rim ElementaryA+ · 80% proficient
- R. Roger Rowe ElementaryA+ · 78% proficient
- Jcs - Mountain OaksA+ · 76% proficient
Top middle schools
- R. Roger Rowe MiddleA · 60% proficient
- Aviara Oaks MiddleA− · 55% proficient
- Diegueno MiddleB+ · 51% proficient
Top high schools
- Canyon Crest AcademyA · 68% proficient
- Sage Creek HighA− · 60% proficient
- San Dieguito Hs AcademyB · 50% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Encinitas school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Encinitas 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 Encinitas against the other 2,097 cities.
Who Encinitas suits
Retirees
The weather beats 100% of cities and health care access beats 84%.
Common questions about living in Encinitas
Is Encinitas a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Encinitas ranks 161st of 2,098 cities. It scores highest on the weather, high incomes, and an educated workforce, and lowest on an overheated housing market and taxes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Encinitas expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $1,561,090. The overall cost of living runs about 68% above the national average. Set against a $162,411 median income, cost of living beats 57% of cities.
Is Encinitas safe?
Encinitas is safer than 28% of cities. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $420 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Encinitas?
July highs average about 75 degrees, and January highs near 67 with lows near 47. That works out to about 336 pleasant days a year, more than 100% of cities.
Is Encinitas good for families?
Schools beat 75% of cities, crime safety beats 28%, and childcare runs $1,432 a month.
Compare Encinitas with other cities
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Encinitas. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Encinitas 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.
Encinitas detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Encinitas: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Encinitas: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Encinitas: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Encinitas: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Encinitas 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.