Best PlacesSan Francisco County, CA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in San Francisco 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 Francisco County ranks 66th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. Paychecks stretch further here than almost anywhere else: the median household brings in $148,881, wages outrun the cost of living, and an educated workforce ranks near the top of the country. The main drawbacks are childcare costs, crime, and noise.
The best neighborhoods in San Francisco 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 Francisco County's strengths and weaknesses
San Francisco County ranks where it does because the parts of life that are hardest to change mostly work here. Biking is the standout, in the top 1% of counties. Transit and the weather follow.
The one real hole is childcare costs, near the bottom of the country. Crime and noise also cost it ground. The measures below break that down, and the map shows how much of it holds street by street.
Where San Francisco County ranks high
- BikingBetter than 99% of counties
- TransitBetter than 99% of counties
- Nice weatherabout 225 pleasant days a year, better than 99% of counties
- WalkabilityBetter than 99% of counties
- Health outlookBetter than 99% of counties
Where San Francisco County ranks low
- Cheap childcare$2,439 a month, better than only 1% of counties
- Crime safetyBetter than only 2% of counties
- QuietBetter than only 4% of counties
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 6% of counties
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 8% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in San Francisco County
A household needs to earn about $373,000 a year to comfortably buy the median San Francisco County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $148,881, 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 Francisco County's effective rate of 0.75%, 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 Francisco County
San Francisco County's age mix sits close to the national median, and households here run smaller than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for San Francisco County.
Who works in San Francisco County, and how
Work in San Francisco County centers on professional & technical and health care & social. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 36%
- Work from home 30%
- Transit, walk, or bike 33%
Life in San Francisco County
San Francisco County has more restaurants and bars per resident than 83% of counties and more parkland per resident than 66% of counties. The coast is about 5 minutes away. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of San Francisco County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is San Francisco County growing, and who is moving in?
San Francisco County has lost about 3% of its population over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from the rest of the San Francisco, CA metro.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving San Francisco 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 Francisco County, month by month
San Francisco County sees roughly 225 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 San Francisco County
San Francisco International sits about 10 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 San Francisco County
Schools across San Francisco County average a B−, better than 61% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Alamo ElementaryA+ · 75% proficient
- Creative Arts CharterB · 45% proficient
- West Portal ElementaryB− · 42% proficient
Top middle schools
- Presidio MiddleA+ · 75% proficient
- Kipp San Francisco Bay AcademyD+ · 27% proficient
- Kipp Bayview AcademyD · 23% proficient
Top high schools
- Westmoor HighA− · 65% proficient
- Tamalpais HighA− · 64% proficient
- City Arts & Leadership AcademyC+ · 40% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every San Francisco County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
San Francisco 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 Francisco County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who San Francisco County suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 90% of counties, internet is fast and widely advertised, and 30% already work from home.
Common questions about living in San Francisco County
Is San Francisco County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, San Francisco County ranks 66th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on biking, transit, and the weather, and lowest on childcare costs and crime. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is San Francisco County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $1,435,983. The overall cost of living runs about 53% above the national average. Set against a $148,881 median income, cost of living beats 90% of counties.
Is San Francisco County safe?
San Francisco County is safer than 2% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $915 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in San Francisco County?
July highs average about 74 degrees, and January highs near 60 with lows near 46. That works out to about 225 pleasant days a year, more than 100% of counties.
Is San Francisco County good for families?
Schools beat 61% of counties, crime safety beats 2%, and childcare runs $2,439 a month.
Is San Francisco County good for remote workers?
Cost of living against local pay beats 90% of counties, and the fastest advertised internet here beats 84% of counties. About 30% of workers already work from home.
Compare San Francisco County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to San Francisco County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in San Francisco 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 Francisco County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for San Francisco County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in San Francisco County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of San Francisco County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in San Francisco County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
San Francisco 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.