Best PlacesGranite Hills, El Cajon, CA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Granite Hills, El Cajon, 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.
Granite Hills, El Cajon ranks 2,085th of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on the weather by a wide margin, and walkability ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Granite Hills, El Cajon
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.
Granite Hills, El Cajon's strengths and weaknesses
Where Granite Hills, El Cajon ranks high
- Nice weatherabout 236 pleasant days a year, better than 93% of neighborhoods
- Household income$122,373 median, better than 82% of neighborhoods
- QuietBetter than 79% of neighborhoods
- Voter turnoutBetter than 79% of neighborhoods
- Low vacancyBetter than 79% of neighborhoods
Where Granite Hills, El Cajon ranks low
- WalkabilityBetter than only 10% of neighborhoods
- BikingBetter than only 12% of neighborhoods
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 20% of neighborhoods
- Air qualityBetter than only 22% of neighborhoods
- TransitBetter than only 22% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in Granite Hills, El Cajon
A household needs to earn about $223,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Granite Hills, El Cajon home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $122,373, 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 Granite Hills, El Cajon's effective rate of 0.66%, 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 Granite Hills, El Cajon
Granite Hills, El Cajon'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 Granite Hills, El Cajon.
Who works in Granite Hills, El Cajon, and how
Work in Granite Hills, El Cajon centers on professional & technical and construction. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 72%
- Work from home 21%
- Transit, walk, or bike 7%
Life in Granite Hills, El Cajon
The coast is about 20 minutes away. Distance to the water changes a lot across Granite Hills, El Cajon, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Granite Hills, El Cajon, month by month
Granite Hills, El Cajon sees roughly 236 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 87 degrees. January highs sit near 68, with lows near 43. The comfortable stretch runs February through November.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 68° | 54° | 43° |
| April | 74° | 61° | 52° |
| July | 87° | 74° | 65° |
| October | 82° | 67° | 56° |
Flying in and out of Granite Hills, El Cajon
San Diego International sits about 17 miles away. It is a large hub and boarded 12.7 million passengers in 2025, with 121 nonstop destinations.
The best schools in and around Granite Hills, El Cajon
Schools across Granite Hills, El Cajon average a C−, better than 34% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Madison Avenue ElementaryD+ · 25% proficient
Top middle schools
- Montgomery MiddleD+ · 25% proficient
Top high schools
- Valhalla HighB · 48% proficient
- Granite Hills HighC+ · 40% proficient
- El Capitan HighC · 32% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Granite Hills, El Cajon school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Granite Hills, El Cajon 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 Granite Hills, El Cajon against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in Granite Hills, El Cajon
Is Granite Hills, El Cajon a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Granite Hills, El Cajon ranks 2,085th of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on the weather, high incomes, and quiet, and lowest on walkability and biking. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Granite Hills, El Cajon expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $869,515. The overall cost of living runs about 29% above the national average. Set against a $122,373 median income, cost of living beats 62% of neighborhoods.
Is Granite Hills, El Cajon safe?
Yes, Granite Hills, El Cajon is safer than 76% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $325 per resident a year.
Compare Granite Hills, El Cajon with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Granite Hills, El Cajon. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Granite Hills, El Cajon 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.
Granite Hills, El Cajon detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Granite Hills, El Cajon: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Granite Hills, El Cajon: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Granite Hills, El Cajon: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Granite Hills, El Cajon: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Granite Hills, El Cajon 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.