Best PlacesGoldenwest, Huntington Beach, CA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Goldenwest, Huntington Beach, 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.
Goldenwest, Huntington Beach ranks 3,193rd of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on the weather by a wide margin, and tree cover ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Goldenwest, Huntington Beach
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.
Goldenwest, Huntington Beach's strengths and weaknesses
Where Goldenwest, Huntington Beach ranks high
- Nice weatherabout 271 pleasant days a year, better than 95% of neighborhoods
- Big-city accessBetter than 93% of neighborhoods
- Low property taxBetter than 86% of neighborhoods
- BikingBetter than 84% of neighborhoods
- Internet speedBetter than 82% of neighborhoods
Where Goldenwest, Huntington Beach ranks low
- Tree shadeBetter than only 6% of neighborhoods
- Air qualityBetter than only 8% of neighborhoods
- Short commute31.0 minutes each way, better than only 15% of neighborhoods
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 16% of neighborhoods
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 17% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in Goldenwest, Huntington Beach
A household needs to earn about $68,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Goldenwest, Huntington Beach home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $84,676, so a typical household can afford the median home outright.
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 Goldenwest, Huntington Beach's effective rate of 0.58%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices, buying tends to cost more than renting for about the first 3 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Goldenwest, Huntington Beach
Goldenwest, Huntington Beach runs younger than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Goldenwest, Huntington Beach.
Who works in Goldenwest, Huntington Beach, and how
Work in Goldenwest, Huntington Beach centers on health care & social and retail trade. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 74%
- Work from home 19%
- Transit, walk, or bike 7%
Life in Goldenwest, Huntington Beach
Goldenwest, Huntington Beach has more restaurants and bars per resident than 73% of neighborhoods. The coast is about 4 minutes away. That concentrates in some parts of Goldenwest, Huntington Beach and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Goldenwest, Huntington Beach, month by month
Goldenwest, Huntington Beach sees roughly 271 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 83 degrees. January highs sit near 69, with lows near 43. Every month averages in that range.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 69° | 55° | 43° |
| April | 74° | 61° | 51° |
| July | 83° | 72° | 63° |
| October | 82° | 67° | 55° |
Flying in and out of Goldenwest, Huntington Beach
John Wayne/Orange County sits about 9 miles away. It is a medium hub and boarded 5.5 million passengers in 2025, with 80 nonstop destinations.
The best schools in and around Goldenwest, Huntington Beach
Schools across Goldenwest, Huntington Beach average a C+, better than 51% of neighborhoods.
Top middle schools
- Spring View MiddleD+ · 25% proficient
Top high schools
- Ocean View HighB · 48% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Goldenwest, Huntington Beach school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Goldenwest, Huntington Beach 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 Goldenwest, Huntington Beach against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in Goldenwest, Huntington Beach
Is Goldenwest, Huntington Beach a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Goldenwest, Huntington Beach ranks 3,193rd of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on the weather, big-city access, and low property taxes, and lowest on tree cover and air quality. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Goldenwest, Huntington Beach expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $266,800. The overall cost of living runs about 49% above the national average. Set against a $84,676 median income, cost of living beats 16% of neighborhoods.
Is Goldenwest, Huntington Beach safe?
Yes, Goldenwest, Huntington Beach is safer than 64% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $398 per resident a year.
Compare Goldenwest, Huntington Beach with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Goldenwest, Huntington Beach. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Goldenwest, Huntington Beach 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.
Goldenwest, Huntington Beach detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Goldenwest, Huntington Beach: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Goldenwest, Huntington Beach: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Goldenwest, Huntington Beach: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Goldenwest, Huntington Beach: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Goldenwest, Huntington Beach 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.