Best PlacesSan Benito County, CA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in San Benito County, 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.
San Benito County ranks 1,189th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on few empty homes by a wide margin, and long commutes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in San Benito County
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.
San Benito County's strengths and weaknesses
Where San Benito County ranks high
- Low vacancyBetter than 99% of counties
- Nice weatherabout 184 pleasant days a year, better than 98% of counties
- Household income$120,257 median, better than 97% of counties
- Cell coverageBetter than 96% of counties
- Big-city accessBetter than 95% of counties
Where San Benito County ranks low
- Short commute36.6 minutes each way, better than only 2% of counties
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 2% of counties
- Cheap childcare$1,400 a month, better than only 4% of counties
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 6% of counties
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 14% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in San Benito County
A household needs to earn about $212,000 a year to comfortably buy the median San Benito County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $120,257, 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 San Benito County's effective rate of 0.79%, 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 San Benito County
San Benito County runs younger 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 San Benito County.
Who works in San Benito County, and how
Work in San Benito County centers on manufacturing and health care & social. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 84%
- Work from home 12%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in San Benito County
San Benito County has fewer places to eat and drink per resident than most counties. The coast is about 32 minutes away. That concentrates in some parts of San Benito County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is San Benito County growing, and who is moving in?
San Benito County has grown about 20% over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from the rest of the San Jose, CA metro.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving San Benito County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in San Benito County, month by month
San Benito County sees roughly 184 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 83 degrees. January highs sit near 62, with lows near 40. The comfortable stretch runs April through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 62° | 49° | 40° |
| April | 71° | 56° | 45° |
| July | 83° | 66° | 54° |
| October | 80° | 61° | 48° |
Flying in and out of San Benito County
The nearest airport, Monterey Regional, is about 30 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Norman Y Mineta San Jose International, about 46 miles away.
The best schools in and around San Benito County
Schools across San Benito County average a C+, better than 52% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Willow Grove ElementaryB · 50% proficient
- Cienega ElementaryC · 35% proficient
- AromasC · 31% proficient
Top high schools
- Anzar HighC · 32% proficient
- King City HighC · 30% proficient
- Coalinga HighC− · 28% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every San Benito County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
San Benito County 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 San Benito County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who San Benito County suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 74% of counties and 12% already work from home.
Common questions about living in San Benito County
Is San Benito County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, San Benito County ranks 1,189th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on few empty homes, the weather, and high incomes, and lowest on long commutes and disaster risk. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is San Benito County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $809,984. The overall cost of living runs about 28% above the national average. Set against a $120,257 median income, cost of living beats 74% of counties.
Is San Benito County safe?
San Benito County is safer than 38% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $401 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in San Benito County?
July highs average about 83 degrees, and January highs near 62 with lows near 40. That works out to about 184 pleasant days a year, more than 98% of counties.
Is San Benito County good for families?
Schools beat 52% of counties, crime safety beats 38%, and childcare runs $1,400 a month.
Compare San Benito County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to San Benito County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in San Benito County 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.
San Benito County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for San Benito County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in San Benito County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of San Benito County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in San Benito County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
San Benito County 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.
- U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program: population growth and net migration behind the population-change section.
- 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.