Best PlacesHayward Highland, Hayward, CA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Hayward Highland, Hayward, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Local pay runs high here, and housing takes the biggest bite out of it. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Hayward Highland, Hayward ranks 1,604th of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on quiet by a wide margin, and childcare costs are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Hayward Highland, Hayward
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.
Hayward Highland, Hayward's strengths and weaknesses
Where Hayward Highland, Hayward ranks high
- QuietBetter than 98% of neighborhoods
- Household income$155,492 median, better than 92% of neighborhoods
- Nice weatherabout 226 pleasant days a year, better than 91% of neighborhoods
- Air qualityBetter than 87% of neighborhoods
- Health outlookBetter than 85% of neighborhoods
Where Hayward Highland, Hayward ranks low
- Cheap childcare$2,082 a month, better than only 5% of neighborhoods
- Short commute34.9 minutes each way, better than only 7% of neighborhoods
- Cell coverageBetter than only 8% of neighborhoods
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 9% of neighborhoods
- WalkabilityBetter than only 12% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in Hayward Highland, Hayward
A household needs to earn about $282,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Hayward Highland, Hayward home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $155,492, 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 Hayward Highland, Hayward's effective rate of 0.71%, 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 Hayward Highland, Hayward
Hayward Highland, Hayward runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Hayward Highland, Hayward.
Who works in Hayward Highland, Hayward, and how
Work in Hayward Highland, Hayward centers on professional & technical and health care & social. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 67%
- Work from home 21%
- Transit, walk, or bike 11%
Life in Hayward Highland, Hayward
Hayward Highland, Hayward has more parkland per resident than 91% of neighborhoods. The coast is about 30 minutes away. That concentrates in some parts of Hayward Highland, Hayward and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Hayward Highland, Hayward, month by month
Hayward Highland, Hayward sees roughly 226 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 75 degrees. January highs sit near 60, with lows near 46. The comfortable stretch runs March through November.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 60° | 52° | 46° |
| April | 67° | 58° | 51° |
| July | 75° | 65° | 58° |
| October | 75° | 64° | 55° |
Flying in and out of Hayward Highland, Hayward
San Francisco Bay Oakland International sits about 11 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 Hayward Highland, Hayward
Schools across Hayward Highland, Hayward average a B, better than 69% of neighborhoods.
Top high schools
- James Logan HighA− · 59% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Hayward Highland, Hayward school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Hayward Highland, Hayward 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 Hayward Highland, Hayward against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in Hayward Highland, Hayward
Is Hayward Highland, Hayward a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Hayward Highland, Hayward ranks 1,604th of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on quiet, high incomes, and the weather, and lowest on childcare costs and long commutes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Hayward Highland, Hayward expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $1,090,984. The overall cost of living runs about 37% above the national average. Set against a $155,492 median income, cost of living beats 82% of neighborhoods.
Is Hayward Highland, Hayward safe?
Yes, Hayward Highland, Hayward is safer than 58% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $446 per resident a year.
Compare Hayward Highland, Hayward with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Hayward Highland, Hayward. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Hayward Highland, Hayward 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.
Hayward Highland, Hayward detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Hayward Highland, Hayward: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Hayward Highland, Hayward: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Hayward Highland, Hayward: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Hayward Highland, Hayward: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Hayward Highland, Hayward 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.