Best PlacesOuter Sunset, San Francisco, CA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Outer Sunset, 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.
Outer Sunset, San Francisco ranks 1,128th of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on transit by a wide margin, and childcare costs are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Outer Sunset, 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.
Outer Sunset, San Francisco's strengths and weaknesses
Where Outer Sunset, San Francisco ranks high
- TransitBetter than 94% of neighborhoods
- BikingBetter than 94% of neighborhoods
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 92% of neighborhoods
- Nice weatherabout 228 pleasant days a year, better than 91% of neighborhoods
- Household income$147,399 median, better than 90% of neighborhoods
Where Outer Sunset, San Francisco ranks low
- Cheap childcare$2,439 a month, better than only 1% of neighborhoods
- Tree shadeBetter than only 9% of neighborhoods
- Short commute32.7 minutes each way, better than only 11% of neighborhoods
- Crime safetyBetter than only 13% of neighborhoods
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 16% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in Outer Sunset, San Francisco
A household needs to earn about $370,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Outer Sunset, San Francisco home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $147,399, 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 Outer Sunset, 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 Outer Sunset, San Francisco
Outer Sunset, San Francisco runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Outer Sunset, San Francisco.
Who works in Outer Sunset, San Francisco, and how
Work in Outer Sunset, San Francisco centers on health care & social and professional & technical. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 50%
- Work from home 25%
- Transit, walk, or bike 25%
Life in Outer Sunset, San Francisco
Outer Sunset, San Francisco has more parkland per resident than 70% of neighborhoods. The coast is about 3 minutes away. That concentrates in some parts of Outer Sunset, San Francisco and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Outer Sunset, San Francisco, month by month
Outer Sunset, San Francisco sees roughly 228 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 74 degrees. January highs sit near 60, with lows near 46. The comfortable stretch runs April through November.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 60° | 53° | 46° |
| April | 68° | 57° | 49° |
| July | 74° | 62° | 56° |
| October | 75° | 62° | 54° |
Flying in and out of Outer Sunset, San Francisco
San Francisco International sits about 12 miles away. It is a large hub and boarded 26.5 million passengers in 2025, with 193 nonstop destinations.
Outer Sunset, 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 Outer Sunset, San Francisco against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Who Outer Sunset, San Francisco suits
Retirees
The weather beats 91% of neighborhoods, health care access beats 71%, and it is quieter than 86%.
Common questions about living in Outer Sunset, San Francisco
Is Outer Sunset, San Francisco a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Outer Sunset, San Francisco ranks 1,128th of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on transit, biking, and a stable housing market, and lowest on childcare costs and tree cover. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Outer Sunset, San Francisco expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $1,450,476. The overall cost of living runs about 52% above the national average. Set against a $147,399 median income, cost of living beats 70% of neighborhoods.
Is Outer Sunset, San Francisco safe?
Outer Sunset, San Francisco is safer than 13% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $823 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Outer Sunset, San Francisco?
July highs average about 74 degrees, and January highs near 60 with lows near 46. That works out to about 228 pleasant days a year, more than 91% of neighborhoods.
Is Outer Sunset, San Francisco good for families?
Schools beat 61% of neighborhoods, crime safety beats 13%, and childcare runs $2,439 a month.
Compare Outer Sunset, San Francisco with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Outer Sunset, San Francisco. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Outer Sunset, 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.
Outer Sunset, San Francisco detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Outer Sunset, San Francisco: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Outer Sunset, San Francisco: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Outer Sunset, San Francisco: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Outer Sunset, San Francisco: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Outer Sunset, 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.