Best PlacesNational City, CA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around National City, 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.
National City ranks 1,633rd of 2,098 U.S. cities on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on the weather by a wide margin, and the cost of living against local pay is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in National City
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.
National City's strengths and weaknesses
Where National City ranks high
- Nice weatherabout 330 pleasant days a year, better than 99% of cities
- TransitBetter than 97% of cities
- WalkabilityBetter than 95% of cities
- Internet speedBetter than 93% of cities
- Low property taxBetter than 91% of cities
Where National City ranks low
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 2% of cities
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 3% of cities
- Crime safetyBetter than only 4% of cities
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 4% of cities
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 5% of cities
What it costs to buy a home in National City
A household needs to earn about $157,000 a year to comfortably buy the median National City home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $70,226, 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 National City's effective rate of 0.53%, 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 National City
National City 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 National City.
Who works in National City, and how
Work in National City centers on health care & social and retail trade. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 85%
- Work from home 7%
- Transit, walk, or bike 8%
Life in National City
National City has more restaurants and bars per resident than 87% of cities and more parkland per resident than 79% of cities. The coast is about 8 minutes away. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of National City and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in National City, month by month
National City sees roughly 330 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 77 degrees. January highs sit near 68, with lows near 48. Every month averages in that range.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 68° | 58° | 48° |
| April | 71° | 63° | 56° |
| July | 77° | 70° | 66° |
| October | 78° | 68° | 60° |
Flying in and out of National City
San Diego International sits about 7 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 National City
Schools across National City average a C−, better than 18% of cities.
Top elementary schools
- Integrity CharterC− · 27% proficient
Top middle schools
- Bonita Vista MiddleB · 44% proficient
- Hilltop MiddleD+ · 26% proficient
- National City MiddleD+ · 25% proficient
Top high schools
- Bonita Vista Senior HighB · 50% proficient
- Hilltop Senior HighB− · 43% proficient
- Castle Park Senior HighC · 31% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every National City school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
National City 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 National City against the other 2,097 cities.
Who National City suits
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 7% already work from home.
Common questions about living in National City
Is National City a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, National City ranks 1,633rd of 2,098 cities. It scores highest on the weather, transit, and walkability, and lowest on the cost of living against local pay and civic engagement. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is National City expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $624,395. The overall cost of living runs about 27% above the national average. Set against a $70,226 median income, cost of living beats 2% of cities.
Is National City safe?
National City is safer than 4% of cities. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $659 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in National City?
July highs average about 77 degrees, and January highs near 68 with lows near 48. That works out to about 330 pleasant days a year, more than 99% of cities.
Is National City good for families?
Schools beat 18% of cities, crime safety beats 4%, and childcare runs $1,432 a month.
Compare National City with other cities
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to National City. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in National City 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.
National City detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for National City: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in National City: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of National City: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in National City: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
National City 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.