Best PlacesMission, San Francisco, CA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Mission, San Francisco, 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.
Mission, San Francisco ranks 915th of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on walkability by a wide margin, and childcare costs are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Mission, San Francisco
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.
Mission, San Francisco's strengths and weaknesses
Where Mission, San Francisco ranks high
- WalkabilityBetter than 99% of neighborhoods
- TransitBetter than 98% of neighborhoods
- BikingBetter than 98% of neighborhoods
- Nice weatherabout 233 pleasant days a year, better than 92% of neighborhoods
- Household income$150,974 median, better than 91% of neighborhoods
Where Mission, San Francisco ranks low
- Cheap childcare$2,439 a month, better than only 1% of neighborhoods
- Crime safetyBetter than only 6% of neighborhoods
- Tree shadeBetter than only 11% of neighborhoods
- Local economyBetter than only 19% of neighborhoods
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 20% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in Mission, San Francisco
A household needs to earn about $350,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Mission, San Francisco home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $150,974, 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 Mission, San Francisco's effective rate of 0.84%, 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 Mission, San Francisco
Mission, San Francisco runs younger than the country, 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 Mission, San Francisco.
Who works in Mission, San Francisco, and how
Work in Mission, San Francisco centers on professional & technical and health care & social. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 29%
- Work from home 32%
- Transit, walk, or bike 39%
Life in Mission, San Francisco
Mission, San Francisco has more restaurants and bars per resident than 86% of neighborhoods and more late-night spots per resident than 78% of neighborhoods. The coast is about 7 minutes away. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Mission, San Francisco and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Mission, San Francisco, month by month
Mission, San Francisco sees roughly 233 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 74 degrees. January highs sit near 60, with lows near 46. The comfortable stretch runs April through November.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 60° | 53° | 46° |
| April | 68° | 57° | 49° |
| July | 74° | 62° | 56° |
| October | 75° | 62° | 54° |
Flying in and out of Mission, San Francisco
San Francisco International sits about 10 miles away. It is a large hub and boarded 26.5 million passengers in 2025, with 193 nonstop destinations.
The best schools in and around Mission, San Francisco
Schools across Mission, San Francisco average a B−, better than 61% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Mission PreparatoryC+ · 37% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Mission, San Francisco school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Mission, San Francisco 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 Mission, San Francisco against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Who Mission, San Francisco suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 77% of neighborhoods and 32% already work from home.
Common questions about living in Mission, San Francisco
Is Mission, San Francisco a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Mission, San Francisco ranks 915th of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on walkability, transit, and biking, and lowest on childcare costs and crime. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Mission, San Francisco expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $1,330,801. The overall cost of living runs about 48% above the national average. Set against a $150,974 median income, cost of living beats 77% of neighborhoods.
Is Mission, San Francisco safe?
Mission, San Francisco is safer than 6% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $1,036 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Mission, San Francisco?
July highs average about 74 degrees, and January highs near 60 with lows near 46. That works out to about 233 pleasant days a year, more than 92% of neighborhoods.
Is Mission, San Francisco good for families?
Schools beat 61% of neighborhoods, crime safety beats 6%, and childcare runs $2,439 a month.
Compare Mission, San Francisco with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Mission, San Francisco. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Mission, San Francisco 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.
Mission, San Francisco detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Mission, San Francisco: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Mission, San Francisco: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Mission, San Francisco: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Mission, San Francisco: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Mission, San Francisco 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.