Best PlacesNorth Berkeley, Berkeley, CA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around North Berkeley, Berkeley, 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 Berkeley, Berkeley ranks 1,491st of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on population health by a wide margin, and childcare costs are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in North Berkeley, Berkeley
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 Berkeley, Berkeley's strengths and weaknesses
Where North Berkeley, Berkeley ranks high
- Health outlookBetter than 94% of neighborhoods
- Educational attainmentBetter than 93% of neighborhoods
- BikingBetter than 93% of neighborhoods
- WalkabilityBetter than 89% of neighborhoods
- Nice weatherabout 216 pleasant days a year, better than 89% of neighborhoods
Where North Berkeley, Berkeley ranks low
- Cheap childcare$2,082 a month, better than only 5% of neighborhoods
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 9% of neighborhoods
- Crime safetyBetter than only 15% of neighborhoods
- Low vacancyBetter than only 17% of neighborhoods
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 20% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in North Berkeley, Berkeley
A household needs to earn about $379,000 a year to comfortably buy the median North Berkeley, Berkeley home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $108,800, 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 Berkeley, Berkeley's effective rate of 0.78%, 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 Berkeley, Berkeley
North Berkeley, Berkeley 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 North Berkeley, Berkeley.
Who works in North Berkeley, Berkeley, and how
Work in North Berkeley, Berkeley centers on education and professional & technical. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 25%
- Work from home 37%
- Transit, walk, or bike 38%
Life in North Berkeley, Berkeley
North Berkeley, Berkeley has more restaurants and bars per resident than 76% of neighborhoods. The coast is about 18 minutes away. That concentrates in some parts of North Berkeley, Berkeley and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in North Berkeley, Berkeley, month by month
North Berkeley, Berkeley sees roughly 216 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 Berkeley, Berkeley
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 Berkeley, Berkeley
Schools across North Berkeley, Berkeley average a B+, better than 86% 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 Berkeley, Berkeley school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
North Berkeley, Berkeley 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 Berkeley, Berkeley against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in North Berkeley, Berkeley
Is North Berkeley, Berkeley a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, North Berkeley, Berkeley ranks 1,491st of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on population health, an educated workforce, and biking, and lowest on childcare costs and disaster risk. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is North Berkeley, Berkeley expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $1,451,780. The overall cost of living runs about 43% above the national average. Set against a $108,800 median income, cost of living beats 49% of neighborhoods.
Is North Berkeley, Berkeley safe?
North Berkeley, Berkeley is safer than 15% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $815 per resident a year.
Compare North Berkeley, Berkeley with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to North Berkeley, Berkeley. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in North Berkeley, Berkeley 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 Berkeley, Berkeley detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for North Berkeley, Berkeley: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in North Berkeley, Berkeley: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of North Berkeley, Berkeley: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in North Berkeley, Berkeley: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
North Berkeley, Berkeley 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.