Best PlacesFremont, CA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Fremont, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. The averages hide a wide spread here, so the area matters as much as the address. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Fremont ranks 25th of 445 U.S. cities on the BestNeighborhood index. Paychecks stretch further here than almost anywhere else: the median household brings in $184,123, wages outrun the cost of living, and an educated workforce ranks near the top of the country. The main drawbacks are childcare costs, disaster risk, and noise.
The best neighborhoods in Fremont
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.
The best areas in Fremont
The parts of Fremont, ranked by the BestNeighborhood standard score across every neighborhood, highest scoring first. Each note says how that part differs from the rest of the city.
Mission Valley
Local pay stretches further, more adults hold degrees, and schools score higher.
Ardenwood
Prices have run up less.
Vineyards-Avalon & Warm Springs
More residents vote, though fewer households have young kids.
Niles Junction & Parkmont
It is quieter, though streets are more car-dependent.
Southern Fremont
Fewer homes sit empty and crime runs lower.
Downtown Fremont & Sundale
Incomes run lower.
Scores across Fremont run from about the 48th to the 99th percentile nationally. The map is where that becomes a choice of area.
Fremont's strengths and weaknesses
Fremont ranks where it does because the parts of life that are hardest to change mostly work here. High incomes is the standout, in the top 1% of cities. Population health and an educated workforce follow.
The one real hole is childcare costs, near the bottom of the country. Disaster risk and noise also cost it ground. The measures below break that down, and the map shows how much of it holds street by street.
Where Fremont ranks high
- Household income$184,123 median, better than 99% of cities
- Health outlookBetter than 99% of cities
- Educational attainmentBetter than 95% of cities
- School gradeA−, better than 93% of cities
- BikingBetter than 92% of cities
Where Fremont ranks low
- Cheap childcare$2,082 a month, better than only 3% of cities
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 8% of cities
- QuietBetter than only 10% of cities
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 15% of cities
- Short commute30.3 minutes each way, better than only 18% of cities
What it costs to buy a home in Fremont
A household needs to earn about $353,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Fremont home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $184,123, 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 Fremont's effective rate of 0.67%, 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 Fremont
Fremont's age mix sits close to the national median, 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 Fremont.
Who works in Fremont, and how
Work in Fremont centers on professional & technical and manufacturing. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 61%
- Work from home 32%
- Transit, walk, or bike 7%
Life in Fremont
Fremont has more restaurants and bars per resident than 69% of cities and more parkland per resident than 86% of cities. The coast is about 34 minutes away. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Fremont and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Fremont, month by month
Fremont sees roughly 241 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 75 degrees. January highs sit near 59, with lows near 45. The comfortable stretch runs February through November.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 59° | 53° | 45° |
| April | 68° | 60° | 49° |
| July | 75° | 68° | 60° |
| October | 74° | 65° | 53° |
Flying in and out of Fremont
Norman Y Mineta San Jose International sits about 13 miles away. It is a medium hub and boarded 5.3 million passengers in 2025, with 67 nonstop destinations.
The best schools in and around Fremont
Schools across Fremont average an A−, better than 93% of cities.
Top elementary schools
- John Gomes ElementaryA+ · 85% proficient
- Mission San Jose ElementaryA+ · 80% proficient
- Forest Park ElementaryA+ · 80% proficient
Top middle schools
- William Hopkins Junior HighA+ · 78% proficient
- John M. Horner MiddleA+ · 69% proficient
- Thornton Junior HighA · 60% proficient
Top high schools
- Irvington HighA · 78% proficient
- American HighA · 74% proficient
- Mission San Jose HighA · 71% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Fremont school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Fremont 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 Fremont against the other 444 cities.
Who Fremont suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 90% of cities and 32% already work from home.
Retirees
The weather beats 92% of cities and health care access beats 76%.
Common questions about living in Fremont
Is Fremont a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Fremont ranks 25th of 445 cities. It scores highest on high incomes, population health, and an educated workforce, 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 Fremont expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $1,375,601. The overall cost of living runs about 51% above the national average. Set against a $184,123 median income, cost of living beats 90% of cities.
Is Fremont safe?
Yes, Fremont is safer than 70% of cities. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $328 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Fremont?
July highs average about 75 degrees, and January highs near 59 with lows near 45. That works out to about 241 pleasant days a year, more than 92% of cities.
What are the best neighborhoods in Fremont?
Using the default rankings, the highest-scoring areas are Mission Valley, Ardenwood, and Vineyards-Avalon & Warm Springs. The ranked list and the re-weightable map above let you re-sort them for your own priorities.
Is Fremont good for families?
Schools beat 93% of cities, crime safety beats 70%, and childcare runs $2,082 a month.
Is Fremont good for remote workers?
Cost of living against local pay beats 90% of cities, though advertised internet speeds beat only 40% of cities. About 32% of workers already work from home.
Compare Fremont with other cities
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Fremont. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Fremont 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.
Fremont detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Fremont: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Fremont: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Fremont: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Fremont: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Fremont 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.