Best PlacesNorthgate Area, Walnut Creek, CA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Northgate Area, Walnut Creek, 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.
Northgate Area, Walnut Creek ranks 280th of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on health care access by a wide margin, and childcare costs are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Northgate Area, Walnut Creek
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.
Northgate Area, Walnut Creek's strengths and weaknesses
Where Northgate Area, Walnut Creek ranks high
- Healthcare accessBetter than 98% of neighborhoods
- Household income$204,134 median, better than 98% of neighborhoods
- QuietBetter than 98% of neighborhoods
- Low vacancyBetter than 97% of neighborhoods
- School gradeA, better than 94% of neighborhoods
Where Northgate Area, Walnut Creek ranks low
- Cheap childcare$1,942 a month, better than only 8% of neighborhoods
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 10% of neighborhoods
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 20% of neighborhoods
- WalkabilityBetter than only 21% of neighborhoods
- TransitBetter than only 21% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in Northgate Area, Walnut Creek
A household needs to earn about $408,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Northgate Area, Walnut Creek home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $204,134, 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 Northgate Area, Walnut Creek's effective rate of 0.68%, 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 Northgate Area, Walnut Creek
Northgate Area, Walnut Creek runs older 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 Northgate Area, Walnut Creek.
Who works in Northgate Area, Walnut Creek, and how
Work in Northgate Area, Walnut Creek centers on professional & technical and education. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 50%
- Work from home 37%
- Transit, walk, or bike 12%
Life in Northgate Area, Walnut Creek
Northgate Area, Walnut Creek has more restaurants and bars per resident than 79% of neighborhoods. The coast is about 31 minutes away. That concentrates in some parts of Northgate Area, Walnut Creek and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Northgate Area, Walnut Creek, month by month
Northgate Area, Walnut Creek sees roughly 176 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 92 degrees. January highs sit near 61, with lows near 41. The comfortable stretch runs March through November.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 61° | 51° | 41° |
| April | 75° | 60° | 48° |
| July | 92° | 72° | 58° |
| October | 82° | 65° | 52° |
Flying in and out of Northgate Area, Walnut Creek
San Francisco Bay Oakland International sits about 18 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 Northgate Area, Walnut Creek
Schools across Northgate Area, Walnut Creek average an A, better than 94% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Walnut Acres ElementaryA · 64% proficient
- Valle Verde ElementaryA− · 61% proficient
- Bancroft ElementaryA− · 56% proficient
Top middle schools
- Foothill MiddleA · 63% proficient
Top high schools
- Northgate HighA · 70% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Northgate Area, Walnut Creek school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Northgate Area, Walnut Creek 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 Northgate Area, Walnut Creek against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in Northgate Area, Walnut Creek
Is Northgate Area, Walnut Creek a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Northgate Area, Walnut Creek ranks 280th of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on health care access, high incomes, and quiet, 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 Northgate Area, Walnut Creek expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $1,588,233. The overall cost of living runs about 43% above the national average. Set against a $204,134 median income, cost of living beats 94% of neighborhoods.
Is Northgate Area, Walnut Creek safe?
Yes, Northgate Area, Walnut Creek is safer than 57% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $442 per resident a year.
Compare Northgate Area, Walnut Creek with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Northgate Area, Walnut Creek. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Northgate Area, Walnut Creek 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.
Northgate Area, Walnut Creek detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Northgate Area, Walnut Creek: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Northgate Area, Walnut Creek: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Northgate Area, Walnut Creek: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Northgate Area, Walnut Creek: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Northgate Area, Walnut Creek 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.