Best PlacesNorthwood, Irvine, CA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Northwood, Irvine, 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.
Northwood, Irvine ranks 292nd of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on the weather by a wide margin, and an overheated housing market is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Northwood, Irvine
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.
Northwood, Irvine's strengths and weaknesses
Where Northwood, Irvine ranks high
- Nice weatherabout 329 pleasant days a year, better than 99% of neighborhoods
- Crime safetyBetter than 96% of neighborhoods
- Health outlookBetter than 93% of neighborhoods
- Big-city accessBetter than 92% of neighborhoods
- School gradeA, better than 91% of neighborhoods
Where Northwood, Irvine ranks low
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 9% of neighborhoods
- Local economyBetter than only 15% of neighborhoods
- Air qualityBetter than only 18% of neighborhoods
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 20% of neighborhoods
- Cheap childcare$1,494 a month, better than only 21% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in Northwood, Irvine
A household needs to earn about $323,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Northwood, Irvine home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $149,628, 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 Northwood, Irvine'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 Northwood, Irvine
Northwood, Irvine's age mix sits close to the national median, 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 Northwood, Irvine.
Who works in Northwood, Irvine, and how
Work in Northwood, Irvine centers on professional & technical and education. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 63%
- Work from home 33%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in Northwood, Irvine
Northwood, Irvine has more parkland per resident than 80% of neighborhoods. The coast is about 14 minutes away. That concentrates in some parts of Northwood, Irvine and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Northwood, Irvine, month by month
Northwood, Irvine sees roughly 329 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 81 degrees. January highs sit near 69, with lows near 48. Every month averages in that range.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 69° | 58° | 48° |
| April | 73° | 63° | 56° |
| July | 81° | 72° | 66° |
| October | 81° | 69° | 61° |
Flying in and out of Northwood, Irvine
John Wayne/Orange County sits about 6 miles away. It is a medium hub and boarded 5.5 million passengers in 2025, with 80 nonstop destinations.
The best schools in and around Northwood, Irvine
Schools across Northwood, Irvine average an A, better than 91% of neighborhoods.
Top high schools
- Northwood HighA · 79% proficient
- Irvine HighA · 72% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Northwood, Irvine school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Northwood, Irvine 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 Northwood, Irvine against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Who Northwood, Irvine suits
Retirees
The weather beats 99% of neighborhoods and health care access beats 87%.
Common questions about living in Northwood, Irvine
Is Northwood, Irvine a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Northwood, Irvine ranks 292nd of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on the weather, low crime, and population health, and lowest on an overheated housing market and a weak job market. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Northwood, Irvine expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $1,247,783. The overall cost of living runs about 65% above the national average. Set against a $149,628 median income, cost of living beats 60% of neighborhoods.
Is Northwood, Irvine safe?
Yes, Northwood, Irvine is safer than 96% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $210 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Northwood, Irvine?
July highs average about 81 degrees, and January highs near 69 with lows near 48. That works out to about 329 pleasant days a year, more than 99% of neighborhoods.
Is Northwood, Irvine good for families?
Schools beat 91% of neighborhoods, crime safety beats 96%, and childcare runs $1,494 a month.
Compare Northwood, Irvine with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Northwood, Irvine. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Northwood, Irvine 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.
Northwood, Irvine detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Northwood, Irvine: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Northwood, Irvine: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Northwood, Irvine: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Northwood, Irvine: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Northwood, Irvine 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.