Best PlacesSan Luis Rey, Oceanside, CA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around San Luis Rey, Oceanside, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. The coast is close, and the measures below put a number on how close. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
San Luis Rey, Oceanside ranks 2,393rd of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on the weather by a wide margin, and long commutes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in San Luis Rey, Oceanside
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 Luis Rey, Oceanside's strengths and weaknesses
Where San Luis Rey, Oceanside ranks high
- Nice weatherabout 245 pleasant days a year, better than 94% of neighborhoods
- Local economyBetter than 92% of neighborhoods
- Low property taxBetter than 84% of neighborhoods
- TransitBetter than 82% of neighborhoods
- Big-city accessBetter than 73% of neighborhoods
Where San Luis Rey, Oceanside ranks low
- Short commute30.4 minutes each way, better than only 17% of neighborhoods
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 20% of neighborhoods
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 23% of neighborhoods
- Cheap childcare$1,432 a month, better than only 25% of neighborhoods
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 26% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in San Luis Rey, Oceanside
A household needs to earn about $154,000 a year to comfortably buy the median San Luis Rey, Oceanside home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $94,321, 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 Rey, Oceanside's effective rate of 0.61%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices, buying tends to cost more than renting for about the first 8 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in San Luis Rey, Oceanside
San Luis Rey, Oceanside 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 Luis Rey, Oceanside.
Who works in San Luis Rey, Oceanside, and how
Work in San Luis Rey, Oceanside centers on retail trade and manufacturing. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 77%
- Work from home 14%
- Transit, walk, or bike 9%
Life in San Luis Rey, Oceanside
The coast is about 6 minutes away. Distance to the water changes a lot across San Luis Rey, Oceanside, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in San Luis Rey, Oceanside, month by month
San Luis Rey, Oceanside sees roughly 245 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 79 degrees. January highs sit near 68, with lows near 40. The comfortable stretch runs March through November.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 68° | 53° | 40° |
| April | 71° | 60° | 48° |
| July | 79° | 70° | 62° |
| October | 79° | 65° | 52° |
Flying in and out of San Luis Rey, Oceanside
The nearest airport, McClellan-Palomar, is about 8 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is San Diego International, about 35 miles away.
The best schools in and around San Luis Rey, Oceanside
Schools across San Luis Rey, Oceanside average a C, better than 37% of neighborhoods.
Top high schools
- El Camino HighB · 46% proficient
- Oceanside HighC · 35% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every San Luis Rey, Oceanside school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
San Luis Rey, Oceanside 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 Rey, Oceanside against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Who San Luis Rey, Oceanside suits
Families
Schools land around the 37th percentile and crime safety beats 69%.
Retirees
The weather beats 94% of neighborhoods and it is quieter than 60%.
Common questions about living in San Luis Rey, Oceanside
Is San Luis Rey, Oceanside a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, San Luis Rey, Oceanside ranks 2,393rd of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on the weather, a strong job market, and low property taxes, and lowest on long commutes 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 Rey, Oceanside expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $604,625. The overall cost of living runs about 26% above the national average. Set against a $94,321 median income, cost of living beats 41% of neighborhoods.
Is San Luis Rey, Oceanside safe?
Yes, San Luis Rey, Oceanside is safer than 69% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $364 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in San Luis Rey, Oceanside?
July highs average about 79 degrees, and January highs near 68 with lows near 40. That works out to about 245 pleasant days a year, more than 94% of neighborhoods.
Is San Luis Rey, Oceanside good for families?
Schools beat 37% of neighborhoods, crime safety beats 69%, and childcare runs $1,432 a month.
Compare San Luis Rey, Oceanside with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to San Luis Rey, Oceanside. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in San Luis Rey, Oceanside 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 Rey, Oceanside detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for San Luis Rey, Oceanside: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in San Luis Rey, Oceanside: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of San Luis Rey, Oceanside: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in San Luis Rey, Oceanside: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
San Luis Rey, Oceanside 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.