Best PlacesNorth Beach, San Francisco, CA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around North Beach, San Francisco, 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.
North Beach, San Francisco ranks 2,146th 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 North Beach, 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.
North Beach, San Francisco's strengths and weaknesses
Where North Beach, San Francisco ranks high
- WalkabilityBetter than 99% of neighborhoods
- TransitBetter than 98% of neighborhoods
- BikingBetter than 90% of neighborhoods
- Nice weatherabout 222 pleasant days a year, better than 89% of neighborhoods
- Big-city accessBetter than 85% of neighborhoods
Where North Beach, San Francisco ranks low
- Cheap childcare$2,407 a month, better than only 1% of neighborhoods
- Crime safetyBetter than only 4% of neighborhoods
- Low vacancyBetter than only 9% of neighborhoods
- Local economyBetter than only 12% of neighborhoods
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 14% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in North Beach, San Francisco
A household needs to earn about $414,000 a year to comfortably buy the median North Beach, San Francisco home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $112,225, 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 North Beach, San Francisco's effective rate of 0.62%, 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 North Beach, San Francisco
North Beach, San Francisco runs older 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 North Beach, San Francisco.
Who works in North Beach, San Francisco, and how
Work in North Beach, 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 24%
- Work from home 32%
- Transit, walk, or bike 44%
Life in North Beach, San Francisco
North Beach, San Francisco has more restaurants and bars per resident than 91% of neighborhoods and more late-night spots per resident than 83% of neighborhoods. The coast is about 6 minutes away. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of North Beach, San Francisco and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in North Beach, San Francisco, month by month
North Beach, San Francisco sees roughly 222 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 74 degrees. January highs sit near 61, with lows near 43. The comfortable stretch runs March through November.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 61° | 52° | 43° |
| April | 68° | 57° | 49° |
| July | 74° | 63° | 56° |
| October | 76° | 63° | 51° |
Flying in and out of North Beach, San Francisco
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 North Beach, San Francisco
Schools across North Beach, San Francisco average a B−, better than 64% of neighborhoods.
Top high schools
- Berkeley HighA+ · 84% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every North Beach, San Francisco school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
North Beach, 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 North Beach, San Francisco against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in North Beach, San Francisco
Is North Beach, San Francisco a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, North Beach, San Francisco ranks 2,146th 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 North Beach, San Francisco expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $1,624,239. The overall cost of living runs about 63% above the national average. Set against a $112,225 median income, cost of living beats 43% of neighborhoods.
Is North Beach, San Francisco safe?
North Beach, San Francisco is safer than 4% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $1,280 per resident a year.
Compare North Beach, San Francisco with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to North Beach, San Francisco. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in North Beach, 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.
North Beach, San Francisco detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for North Beach, San Francisco: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in North Beach, San Francisco: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of North Beach, San Francisco: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in North Beach, San Francisco: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
North Beach, 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.