Best PlacesPacifica, CA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Pacifica, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Distance to the water drives a lot of the difference between one part and the next. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Pacifica ranks 241st of 2,098 U.S. cities on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on high incomes by a wide margin, and childcare costs are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Pacifica
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.
The best areas in Pacifica
The parts of Pacifica, ranked by the BestNeighborhood standard score across every neighborhood, highest scoring first.
Linda Mar
Sharp Park
Edgemar-Pacific Manor
Vallemar
Westview & Fairmont
Scores across Pacifica run from about the 68th to the 98th percentile nationally. The map is where that becomes a choice of area.
Pacifica's strengths and weaknesses
Where Pacifica ranks high
- Household income$162,622 median, better than 94% of cities
- Nice weatherabout 207 pleasant days a year, better than 92% of cities
- Health outlookBetter than 90% of cities
- BikingBetter than 88% of cities
- Big-city accessBetter than 85% of cities
Where Pacifica ranks low
- Cheap childcare$2,233 a month, better than only 1% of cities
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 14% of cities
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 16% of cities
- Local economyBetter than only 22% of cities
- State infrastructureBetter than only 24% of cities
What it costs to buy a home in Pacifica
A household needs to earn about $323,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Pacifica home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $162,622, 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 Pacifica's effective rate of 0.64%, 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 Pacifica
Pacifica runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Pacifica.
Who works in Pacifica, and how
Work in Pacifica centers on professional & technical and health care & social. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 70%
- Work from home 23%
- Transit, walk, or bike 7%
Life in Pacifica
Pacifica has more restaurants and bars per resident than 68% of cities and more parkland per resident than 92% of cities. The coast is about 2 minutes away. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Pacifica and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Pacifica, month by month
Pacifica sees roughly 207 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 Pacifica
San Francisco International sits about 6 miles away. It is a large hub and boarded 26.5 million passengers in 2025, with 193 nonstop destinations.
The best schools in and around Pacifica
Schools across Pacifica average an A−, better than 82% of cities.
Top elementary schools
- Vallemar ElementaryA− · 60% proficient
- Monte Verde ElementaryB+ · 54% proficient
- Ortega ElementaryB · 50% proficient
Top middle schools
- Ingrid B. Lacy MiddleA− · 58% proficient
- Westborough MiddleB+ · 51% proficient
- Fernando Rivera IntermediateC+ · 38% proficient
Top high schools
- Terra Nova HighA · 75% proficient
- Oceana HighA− · 65% proficient
- South San Francisco HighB− · 44% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Pacifica school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Pacifica 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 Pacifica against the other 2,097 cities.
Who Pacifica suits
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 23% already work from home.
Retirees
The weather beats 92% of cities, health care access beats 66%, and it is quieter than 70%.
Common questions about living in Pacifica
Is Pacifica a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Pacifica ranks 241st of 2,098 cities. It scores highest on high incomes, the weather, and population health, and lowest on childcare costs and taxes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Pacifica expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $1,264,631. The overall cost of living runs about 52% above the national average. Set against a $162,622 median income, cost of living beats 66% of cities.
Is Pacifica safe?
Pacifica is safer than 24% of cities. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $415 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Pacifica?
July highs average about 74 degrees, and January highs near 60 with lows near 46. That works out to about 207 pleasant days a year, more than 92% of cities.
What are the best neighborhoods in Pacifica?
Using the default rankings, the highest-scoring areas are Linda Mar, Sharp Park, and Edgemar-Pacific Manor. The ranked list and the re-weightable map above let you re-sort them for your own priorities.
Compare Pacifica with other cities
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Pacifica. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Pacifica 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.
Pacifica detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Pacifica: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Pacifica: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Pacifica: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Pacifica: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Pacifica 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.