Best PlacesMeredith Parkwood, Santa Ana, CA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Meredith Parkwood, Santa Ana, 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.
Meredith Parkwood, Santa Ana ranks 1,383rd of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on the weather by a wide margin, and internet speeds rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Meredith Parkwood, Santa Ana
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.
Meredith Parkwood, Santa Ana's strengths and weaknesses
Where Meredith Parkwood, Santa Ana ranks high
- Nice weatherabout 329 pleasant days a year, better than 99% of neighborhoods
- Big-city accessBetter than 92% of neighborhoods
- Crime safetyBetter than 88% of neighborhoods
- Household income$134,283 median, better than 87% of neighborhoods
- Low property taxBetter than 80% of neighborhoods
Where Meredith Parkwood, Santa Ana ranks low
- Internet speedBetter than only 7% of neighborhoods
- Air qualityBetter than only 10% of neighborhoods
- QuietBetter than only 14% of neighborhoods
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 16% of neighborhoods
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 20% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in Meredith Parkwood, Santa Ana
A household needs to earn about $251,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Meredith Parkwood, Santa Ana home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $134,283, 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 Meredith Parkwood, Santa Ana's effective rate of 0.64%, 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 Meredith Parkwood, Santa Ana
Meredith Parkwood, Santa Ana runs younger than the country, 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 Meredith Parkwood, Santa Ana.
Who works in Meredith Parkwood, Santa Ana, and how
Work in Meredith Parkwood, Santa Ana centers on health care & social and admin & support services. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 83%
- Work from home 15%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in Meredith Parkwood, Santa Ana
Meredith Parkwood, Santa Ana has more restaurants and bars per resident than 89% of neighborhoods. The coast is about 10 minutes away. That concentrates in some parts of Meredith Parkwood, Santa Ana and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Meredith Parkwood, Santa Ana, month by month
Meredith Parkwood, Santa Ana sees roughly 329 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 81 degrees. January highs sit near 69, with lows near 48. Every month averages in that range.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 69° | 58° | 48° |
| April | 73° | 63° | 56° |
| July | 81° | 72° | 66° |
| October | 81° | 69° | 61° |
Flying in and out of Meredith Parkwood, Santa Ana
John Wayne/Orange County sits about 6 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 Meredith Parkwood, Santa Ana
Schools across Meredith Parkwood, Santa Ana average a B−, better than 70% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Loma Vista ElementaryD+ · 25% proficient
Top high schools
- Foothill HighA · 69% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Meredith Parkwood, Santa Ana school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Meredith Parkwood, Santa Ana 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 Meredith Parkwood, Santa Ana against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in Meredith Parkwood, Santa Ana
Is Meredith Parkwood, Santa Ana a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Meredith Parkwood, Santa Ana ranks 1,383rd of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on the weather, big-city access, and low crime, and lowest on internet speeds and air quality. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Meredith Parkwood, Santa Ana expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $980,522. The overall cost of living runs about 49% above the national average. Set against a $134,283 median income, cost of living beats 56% of neighborhoods.
Is Meredith Parkwood, Santa Ana safe?
Yes, Meredith Parkwood, Santa Ana is safer than 88% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $257 per resident a year.
Compare Meredith Parkwood, Santa Ana with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Meredith Parkwood, Santa Ana. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Meredith Parkwood, Santa Ana 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.
Meredith Parkwood, Santa Ana detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Meredith Parkwood, Santa Ana: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Meredith Parkwood, Santa Ana: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Meredith Parkwood, Santa Ana: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Meredith Parkwood, Santa Ana: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Meredith Parkwood, Santa Ana 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.