Best PlacesSan Mateo, San Juan, PR Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around San Mateo, San Juan, 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 Mateo, San Juan is unranked among neighborhoods under the default weighting. It scores highest on low property taxes by a wide margin, and the weather ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in San Mateo, San Juan
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 Mateo, San Juan's strengths and weaknesses
Where San Mateo, San Juan ranks high
- Low property taxBetter than 99% of neighborhoods
- Cheap childcare$512 a month, better than 99% of neighborhoods
- WalkabilityBetter than 92% of neighborhoods
- Educational attainmentBetter than 66% of neighborhoods
- Air qualityBetter than 65% of neighborhoods
Where San Mateo, San Juan ranks low
- Nice weatherabout 0 pleasant days a year, better than only 1% of neighborhoods
- State infrastructureBetter than only 1% of neighborhoods
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 1% of neighborhoods
- Cell coverageBetter than only 1% of neighborhoods
- Low vacancyBetter than only 1% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in San Mateo, San Juan
A household needs to earn about $42,000 a year to comfortably buy the median San Mateo, San Juan home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $38,971; the gap is small, which keeps homes within reach of local pay.
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 Mateo, San Juan's effective rate of 0.12%, 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 6 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 Mateo, San Juan
San Mateo, San Juan runs older than the country, 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 Mateo, San Juan.
Who works in San Mateo, San Juan, and how
Work in San Mateo, San Juan centers on professional & technical and health care & social. Unemployment is low.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 73%
- Work from home 10%
- Transit, walk, or bike 17%
Life in San Mateo, San Juan
San Mateo, San Juan has more restaurants and bars per resident than 76% of neighborhoods. The coast is about 1 minutes away. That concentrates in some parts of San Mateo, San Juan and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in San Mateo, San Juan, month by month
San Mateo, San Juan sees roughly 0 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 87 degrees. January highs sit near 82, with lows near 74. No month averages between 55 and 75 degrees.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 82° | 79° | 74° |
| April | 83° | 81° | 76° |
| July | 87° | 84° | 81° |
| October | 87° | 84° | 79° |
Flying in and out of San Mateo, San Juan
The nearest airport, Fernando Luis Ribas Dominicci, is about 2 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Luis Munoz Marin International, about 4 miles away.
San Mateo, San Juan 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 Mateo, San Juan against neighborhoods nationally.
Common questions about living in San Mateo, San Juan
Is San Mateo, San Juan a good place to live?
It scores highest on low property taxes, affordable childcare, and walkability, and lowest on the weather and state infrastructure. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is San Mateo, San Juan expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $178,563. Set against a $38,971 median income, cost of living beats 50% of neighborhoods.
Is San Mateo, San Juan safe?
San Mateo, San Juan is safer than 5% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $1,018 per resident a year.
Compare San Mateo, San Juan with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to San Mateo, San Juan. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in San Mateo, San Juan 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 Mateo, San Juan detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for San Mateo, San Juan: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in San Mateo, San Juan: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of San Mateo, San Juan: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in San Mateo, San Juan: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
San Mateo, San Juan 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.