Best PlacesSan Luis Obispo County, CA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in San Luis Obispo County, 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.
San Luis Obispo County ranks 463rd of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. The coast is about 16 minutes away. Its strengths are the weather and biking. The cost shows up in childcare costs, taxes, and an overheated housing market.
The best neighborhoods in San Luis Obispo 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 Luis Obispo County
The parts of San Luis Obispo 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.
Pismo Beach
More adults hold degrees, biking is better, and incomes run higher.
Los Osos & Morro Bay
Fewer households have young kids and more homes sit empty.
Arroyo Grande & Nipomo
Heat risk is lower.
El Paso de Robles
Schools score lower and commutes are longer.
San Luis Obispo & Atascadero
Health care is harder to reach and local pay stretches less far.
Templeton, Paso Robles & Cambria
Streets are more car-dependent.
San Luis Obispo County shows why a single number is not enough. Some neighborhoods score in the bottom 6% of the country and others in the top 2%. Pick the area first, then the home.
San Luis Obispo County's strengths and weaknesses
San Luis Obispo County ranks where it does because the parts of life that are hardest to change mostly work here. The weather is the standout, in the top 1% of counties. Biking and high incomes follow.
The one real hole is childcare costs, near the bottom of the country. Taxes and an overheated housing market also cost it ground. The measures below break that down, and the map shows how much of it holds street by street.
Where San Luis Obispo County ranks high
- Nice weatherabout 192 pleasant days a year, better than 99% of counties
- BikingBetter than 95% of counties
- Household income$101,230 median, better than 93% of counties
- Health outlookBetter than 93% of counties
- Educational attainmentBetter than 91% of counties
Where San Luis Obispo County ranks low
- Cheap childcare$1,391 a month, better than only 4% of counties
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 6% of counties
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 7% of counties
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 17% of counties
- State infrastructureBetter than only 18% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in San Luis Obispo County
A household needs to earn about $215,000 a year to comfortably buy the median San Luis Obispo County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $101,230, 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 Luis Obispo County's effective rate of 0.65%, 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 Luis Obispo County
San Luis Obispo County runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for San Luis Obispo County.
Who works in San Luis Obispo County, and how
Work in San Luis Obispo County centers on health care & social and education. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 76%
- Work from home 16%
- Transit, walk, or bike 8%
Life in San Luis Obispo County
San Luis Obispo County has more restaurants and bars per resident than 82% of counties and more parkland per resident than 69% of counties. The coast is about 16 minutes away. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of San Luis Obispo County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is San Luis Obispo County growing, and who is moving in?
San Luis Obispo County has grown about 1% over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Los Angeles, CA.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving San Luis Obispo 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 Luis Obispo County, month by month
San Luis Obispo County sees roughly 192 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 81 degrees. January highs sit near 68, with lows near 42. The comfortable stretch runs March through November.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 68° | 54° | 42° |
| April | 72° | 57° | 47° |
| July | 81° | 64° | 54° |
| October | 82° | 63° | 51° |
Flying in and out of San Luis Obispo County
The nearest airport, San Luis Obispo County Regional, is about 7 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Bob Hope, about 153 miles away.
The best schools in and around San Luis Obispo County
Schools across San Luis Obispo County average a B−, better than 68% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Bellevue-santa Fe CharterA+ · 75% proficient
- Sinsheimer ElementaryA− · 57% proficient
- Bishop's Peak ElementaryA− · 56% proficient
Top middle schools
- Teach ElementaryA+ · 80% proficient
- Laguna MiddleA− · 58% proficient
- Templeton MiddleB+ · 50% proficient
Top high schools
- Templeton HighB+ · 58% proficient
- San Luis Obispo HighB+ · 52% proficient
- Leffingwell High (continuation)B · 50% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every San Luis Obispo County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
San Luis Obispo 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 Luis Obispo County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who San Luis Obispo County suits
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 16% already work from home.
Common questions about living in San Luis Obispo County
Is San Luis Obispo County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, San Luis Obispo County ranks 463rd of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on the weather, biking, and high incomes, 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 San Luis Obispo County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $839,497. The overall cost of living runs about 25% above the national average. Set against a $101,230 median income, cost of living beats 53% of counties.
Is San Luis Obispo County safe?
Yes, San Luis Obispo County is safer than 62% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $336 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in San Luis Obispo County?
July highs average about 81 degrees, and January highs near 68 with lows near 42. That works out to about 192 pleasant days a year, more than 99% of counties.
What are the best neighborhoods in San Luis Obispo County?
Using the default rankings, the highest-scoring areas are Pismo Beach, Los Osos & Morro Bay, and Arroyo Grande & Nipomo. The ranked list and the re-weightable map above let you re-sort them for your own priorities.
Is San Luis Obispo County good for families?
Schools beat 68% of counties, crime safety beats 62%, and childcare runs $1,391 a month.
Is San Luis Obispo County good for remote workers?
Cost of living against local pay beats 53% of counties, and the fastest advertised internet here beats 75% of counties. About 16% of workers already work from home.
Compare San Luis Obispo County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to San Luis Obispo County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in San Luis Obispo 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 Luis Obispo County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for San Luis Obispo County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in San Luis Obispo County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of San Luis Obispo County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in San Luis Obispo County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
San Luis Obispo 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.