Best PlacesSanta Clara County, CA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Santa Clara County, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. The averages hide a wide spread here, so the area matters as much as the address. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Santa Clara County ranks 26th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. Paychecks stretch further here than almost anywhere else: the median household brings in $168,612, wages outrun the cost of living, and an educated workforce ranks near the top of the country. The main drawbacks are childcare costs, noise, and disaster risk.
The best neighborhoods in Santa Clara 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 Santa Clara County
The parts of Santa Clara 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.
Cupertino
More adults hold degrees, schools score higher, and incomes run higher.
Sunnyvale, Mountain View & Palo Alto
Local pay stretches further, though more homes sit empty.
Saratoga
Health care is easier to reach, though streets are more car-dependent.
Campbell & Los Gatos
More households have young kids and more residents vote.
Milpitas
Prices have run up less, though it is noisier.
Gilroy & Morgan Hill
Commutes are longer and biking is worse.
Santa Clara
Transit reaches more jobs, though crime runs higher.
Alum Rock
San Jose
Homes cost less.
Scores across Santa Clara County run from about the 15th to the 100th percentile nationally. The map is where that becomes a choice of area.
Santa Clara County's strengths and weaknesses
Santa Clara County ranks where it does because the parts of life that are hardest to change mostly work here. High incomes is the standout, in the top 1% of counties. Population health and biking follow.
The one real hole is childcare costs, near the bottom of the country. Noise and disaster risk also cost it ground. The measures below break that down, and the map shows how much of it holds street by street.
Where Santa Clara County ranks high
- Household income$168,612 median, better than 99% of counties
- Health outlookBetter than 99% of counties
- BikingBetter than 99% of counties
- Nice weatherabout 215 pleasant days a year, better than 99% of counties
- TransitBetter than 99% of counties
Where Santa Clara County ranks low
- Cheap childcare$2,106 a month, better than only 1% of counties
- QuietBetter than only 3% of counties
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 5% of counties
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 6% of counties
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 6% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Santa Clara County
A household needs to earn about $361,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Santa Clara County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $168,612, 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 Santa Clara County's effective rate of 0.71%, 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 Santa Clara County
Santa Clara County's age mix sits close to the national median, 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 Santa Clara County.
Who works in Santa Clara County, and how
Work in Santa Clara County centers on professional & technical and manufacturing. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 69%
- Work from home 24%
- Transit, walk, or bike 8%
Life in Santa Clara County
Santa Clara County has more late-night spots per resident than 72% of counties. The coast is about 30 minutes away. That concentrates in some parts of Santa Clara County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Santa Clara County growing, and who is moving in?
Santa Clara County has grown about 2% over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from San Francisco, CA.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Santa Clara County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Santa Clara County, month by month
Santa Clara County sees roughly 215 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 84 degrees. January highs sit near 63, with lows near 42. The comfortable stretch runs March through November.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 63° | 52° | 42° |
| April | 73° | 59° | 48° |
| July | 84° | 69° | 58° |
| October | 80° | 65° | 53° |
Flying in and out of Santa Clara County
Norman Y Mineta San Jose International sits about 3 miles away. It is a medium hub and boarded 5.3 million passengers in 2025, with 67 nonstop destinations.
The best schools in and around Santa Clara County
Schools across Santa Clara County average a B+, better than 87% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- William Faria ElementaryA+ · 93% proficient
- Bullis CharterA+ · 88% proficient
- Herbert Hoover ElementaryA+ · 88% proficient
Top middle schools
- Joaquin Miller MiddleA+ · 88% proficient
- John F. Kennedy MiddleA+ · 83% proficient
- Redwood MiddleA+ · 83% proficient
Top high schools
- Lynbrook HighA+ · 98% proficient
- Cupertino HighA+ · 98% proficient
- Monta Vista HighA+ · 95% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Santa Clara County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Santa Clara 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 Santa Clara County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who Santa Clara County suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 88% of counties, internet is fast and widely advertised, and 24% already work from home.
Common questions about living in Santa Clara County
Is Santa Clara County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Santa Clara County ranks 26th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on high incomes, population health, and biking, and lowest on childcare costs and noise. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Santa Clara County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $1,398,379. The overall cost of living runs about 69% above the national average. Set against a $168,612 median income, cost of living beats 88% of counties.
Is Santa Clara County safe?
Yes, Santa Clara County is safer than 82% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $291 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Santa Clara County?
July highs average about 84 degrees, and January highs near 63 with lows near 42. That works out to about 215 pleasant days a year, more than 100% of counties.
What are the best neighborhoods in Santa Clara County?
Using the default rankings, the highest-scoring areas are Cupertino, Sunnyvale, Mountain View & Palo Alto, and Saratoga. The ranked list and the re-weightable map above let you re-sort them for your own priorities.
Is Santa Clara County good for families?
Schools beat 87% of counties, crime safety beats 82%, and childcare runs $2,106 a month.
Is Santa Clara County good for remote workers?
Cost of living against local pay beats 88% of counties, and the fastest advertised internet here beats 88% of counties. About 24% of workers already work from home.
Compare Santa Clara County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Santa Clara County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Santa Clara 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.
Santa Clara County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Santa Clara County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Santa Clara County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Santa Clara County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Santa Clara County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Santa Clara 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.