Best PlacesSan Joaquin County, CA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in San Joaquin County, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. The averages are not the whole story, and the strongest areas score well above them. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
San Joaquin County ranks 1,868th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It ranks low mainly on civic engagement and summer heat. It does better on big-city access, which keeps it off the bottom.
The best neighborhoods in San Joaquin 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.
The best areas in San Joaquin County
The parts of San Joaquin County, ranked by the BestNeighborhood standard score across every neighborhood, highest scoring first. Each note says how that part differs from the rest of the county.
Tracy & Mountain House
Incomes run higher, crime runs lower, and local pay stretches further.
Manteca
More residents vote, though transit reaches fewer jobs.
Lathrop
More households have young kids, though biking is worse.
Acampo, Lockeford & Linden
Commutes are shorter and it is quieter.
Country Club
Scores close to Acampo, Lockeford & Linden, except that schools score lower here.
Lodi
Scores close to Country Club, except that fewer adults hold degrees here.
Stockton
Homes cost less and streets are more walkable.
Garden Acres & August
Health care is harder to reach and health outcomes score lower.
San Joaquin County shows why a single number is not enough. Some neighborhoods score in the bottom 1% of the country and others in the top 5%. Pick the area first, then the home.
San Joaquin County's strengths and weaknesses
San Joaquin County lands in the middle because its strengths and weaknesses roughly balance. Big-city access, cell coverage, and biking carry most of that.
The one real hole is civic engagement, near the bottom of the country. Summer heat and noise also cost it ground. The detail is below, and the map is where it turns into a choice of neighborhood rather than just a place.
Where San Joaquin County ranks high
- Big-city accessBetter than 97% of counties
- Cell coverageBetter than 96% of counties
- BikingBetter than 95% of counties
- TransitBetter than 95% of counties
- WalkabilityBetter than 94% of counties
Where San Joaquin County ranks low
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 2% of counties
- Heat safetyBetter than only 4% of counties
- QuietBetter than only 5% of counties
- Short commute34.1 minutes each way, better than only 5% of counties
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 6% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in San Joaquin County
A household needs to earn about $140,000 a year to comfortably buy the median San Joaquin County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $100,699, 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 Joaquin 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 Joaquin County
San Joaquin 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 Joaquin County.
Who works in San Joaquin County, and how
Work in San Joaquin County centers on health care & social and retail trade. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 85%
- Work from home 11%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in San Joaquin County
San Joaquin County has fewer places to eat and drink per resident than most counties and less late-night activity than most counties. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of San Joaquin County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is San Joaquin County growing, and who is moving in?
San Joaquin County has grown about 15% over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from San Francisco, CA.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving San Joaquin 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 Joaquin County, month by month
San Joaquin County sees roughly 137 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 98 degrees. January highs sit near 61, with lows near 39. The comfortable stretch runs March through June, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 61° | 49° | 39° |
| April | 77° | 61° | 46° |
| July | 98° | 78° | 60° |
| October | 83° | 65° | 49° |
Flying in and out of San Joaquin County
The nearest airport, Stockton Metro, is about 4 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Norman Y Mineta San Jose International, about 52 miles away.
The best schools in and around San Joaquin County
Schools across San Joaquin County average a C−, better than 28% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Park View ElementaryA+ · 73% proficient
- Hansen ElementaryA− · 60% proficient
- Weston ElementaryA− · 58% proficient
Top middle schools
- ElkhornA+ · 92% proficient
- JeffersonA− · 56% proficient
- Discovery CharterC+ · 36% proficient
Top high schools
- Stockton Early College AcademyA+ · 80% proficient
- Middle College HighA · 76% proficient
- Livermore HighA · 67% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every San Joaquin County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
San Joaquin 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 Joaquin County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who San Joaquin County suits
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 11% already work from home.
Common questions about living in San Joaquin County
Is San Joaquin County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, San Joaquin County ranks 1,868th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on big-city access, cell coverage, and biking, and lowest on civic engagement and summer heat. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is San Joaquin County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $537,480. The overall cost of living runs about 15% above the national average. Set against a $100,699 median income, cost of living beats 60% of counties.
Is San Joaquin County safe?
San Joaquin County is safer than 12% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $639 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in San Joaquin County?
July highs average about 98 degrees, and January highs near 61 with lows near 39. That works out to about 137 pleasant days a year, more than 86% of counties.
What are the best neighborhoods in San Joaquin County?
Using the default rankings, the highest-scoring areas are Tracy & Mountain House, Manteca, and Lathrop. The ranked list and the re-weightable map above let you re-sort them for your own priorities.
Is San Joaquin County good for families?
Schools beat 28% of counties, crime safety beats 12%, and childcare runs $1,299 a month.
Is San Joaquin County good for remote workers?
Cost of living against local pay beats 60% of counties, and the fastest advertised internet here beats 79% of counties. About 11% of workers already work from home.
Compare San Joaquin County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to San Joaquin County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in San Joaquin 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 Joaquin County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for San Joaquin County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in San Joaquin County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of San Joaquin County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in San Joaquin County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
San Joaquin 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.