Best PlacesGrand Lake, Oakland, CA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Grand Lake, Oakland, 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.
Grand Lake, Oakland ranks 2,223rd of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on fast internet by a wide margin, and cell coverage ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Grand Lake, Oakland
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.
Grand Lake, Oakland's strengths and weaknesses
Where Grand Lake, Oakland ranks high
- Internet speedBetter than 98% of neighborhoods
- Health outlookBetter than 93% of neighborhoods
- Nice weatherabout 221 pleasant days a year, better than 89% of neighborhoods
- Big-city accessBetter than 87% of neighborhoods
- Educational attainmentBetter than 87% of neighborhoods
Where Grand Lake, Oakland ranks low
- Cell coverageBetter than only 4% of neighborhoods
- Cheap childcare$2,082 a month, better than only 5% of neighborhoods
- QuietBetter than only 9% of neighborhoods
- Short commute32.8 minutes each way, better than only 10% of neighborhoods
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 11% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in Grand Lake, Oakland
A household needs to earn about $175,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Grand Lake, Oakland home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $107,216, 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 Grand Lake, Oakland's effective rate of 0.87%, 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 Grand Lake, Oakland
Grand Lake, Oakland's age mix sits close to the national median, 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 Grand Lake, Oakland.
Who works in Grand Lake, Oakland, and how
Work in Grand Lake, Oakland centers on professional & technical and education. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 37%
- Work from home 35%
- Transit, walk, or bike 28%
Life in Grand Lake, Oakland
Grand Lake, Oakland has more restaurants and bars per resident than 70% of neighborhoods. The coast is about 15 minutes away. That concentrates in some parts of Grand Lake, Oakland and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Grand Lake, Oakland, month by month
Grand Lake, Oakland sees roughly 221 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 Grand Lake, Oakland
San Francisco Bay Oakland International sits about 7 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 Grand Lake, Oakland
Schools across Grand Lake, Oakland average a C−, better than 34% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Beach ElementaryA+ · 78% proficient
Top middle schools
- Piedmont MiddleA+ · 78% proficient
Top high schools
- Piedmont HighA · 78% proficient
- Aims College Prep HighC+ · 37% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Grand Lake, Oakland school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Grand Lake, Oakland 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 Grand Lake, Oakland against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in Grand Lake, Oakland
Is Grand Lake, Oakland a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Grand Lake, Oakland ranks 2,223rd of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on fast internet, population health, and the weather, and lowest on cell coverage and childcare costs. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Grand Lake, Oakland expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $664,316. The overall cost of living runs about 24% above the national average. Set against a $107,216 median income, cost of living beats 69% of neighborhoods.
Is Grand Lake, Oakland safe?
Grand Lake, Oakland is safer than 20% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $719 per resident a year.
Compare Grand Lake, Oakland with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Grand Lake, Oakland. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Grand Lake, Oakland 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.
Grand Lake, Oakland detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Grand Lake, Oakland: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Grand Lake, Oakland: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Grand Lake, Oakland: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Grand Lake, Oakland: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Grand Lake, Oakland 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.