Best PlacesNorth Hayward, Hayward, CA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around North Hayward, Hayward, 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 Hayward, Hayward ranks 2,849th of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on the weather by a wide margin, and childcare costs are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in North Hayward, Hayward
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 Hayward, Hayward's strengths and weaknesses
Where North Hayward, Hayward ranks high
- Nice weatherabout 249 pleasant days a year, better than 94% of neighborhoods
- Internet speedBetter than 92% of neighborhoods
- Big-city accessBetter than 86% of neighborhoods
- Low vacancyBetter than 84% of neighborhoods
- Air qualityBetter than 82% of neighborhoods
Where North Hayward, Hayward ranks low
- Cheap childcare$2,082 a month, better than only 5% of neighborhoods
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 10% of neighborhoods
- Short commute32.4 minutes each way, better than only 11% of neighborhoods
- QuietBetter than only 19% of neighborhoods
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 20% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in North Hayward, Hayward
A household needs to earn about $205,000 a year to comfortably buy the median North Hayward, Hayward home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $101,702, 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 Hayward, Hayward's effective rate of 0.73%, 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 Hayward, Hayward
North Hayward, Hayward runs younger than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for North Hayward, Hayward.
Who works in North Hayward, Hayward, and how
Work in North Hayward, Hayward centers on health care & social and retail trade. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 83%
- Work from home 11%
- Transit, walk, or bike 6%
Life in North Hayward, Hayward
North Hayward, Hayward has more restaurants and bars per resident than 76% of neighborhoods. The coast is about 26 minutes away. That concentrates in some parts of North Hayward, Hayward and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in North Hayward, Hayward, month by month
North Hayward, Hayward sees roughly 249 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 75 degrees. January highs sit near 60, with lows near 46. The comfortable stretch runs March through November.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 60° | 52° | 46° |
| April | 67° | 58° | 51° |
| July | 75° | 65° | 58° |
| October | 75° | 64° | 55° |
Flying in and out of North Hayward, Hayward
San Francisco Bay Oakland International sits about 8 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 Hayward, Hayward
Schools across North Hayward, Hayward average a B, better than 68% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Knowledge Enlightens You (key) AcademyD+ · 22% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every North Hayward, Hayward school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
North Hayward, Hayward 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 Hayward, Hayward against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in North Hayward, Hayward
Is North Hayward, Hayward a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, North Hayward, Hayward ranks 2,849th of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on the weather, fast internet, and big-city access, 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 Hayward, Hayward expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $791,261. The overall cost of living runs about 30% above the national average. Set against a $101,702 median income, cost of living beats 47% of neighborhoods.
Is North Hayward, Hayward safe?
North Hayward, Hayward is safer than 35% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $598 per resident a year.
Compare North Hayward, Hayward with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to North Hayward, Hayward. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in North Hayward, Hayward 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 Hayward, Hayward detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for North Hayward, Hayward: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in North Hayward, Hayward: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of North Hayward, Hayward: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in North Hayward, Hayward: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
North Hayward, Hayward 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.