Best PlacesSanta Teresa, San Jose, CA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Santa Teresa, San Jose, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Local pay runs high here, and housing takes the biggest bite out of it. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Santa Teresa, San Jose ranks 592nd of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on few empty homes by a wide margin, and childcare costs are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Santa Teresa, San Jose
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.
Santa Teresa, San Jose's strengths and weaknesses
Where Santa Teresa, San Jose ranks high
- Low vacancyBetter than 97% of neighborhoods
- Household income$170,015 median, better than 95% of neighborhoods
- Crime safetyBetter than 94% of neighborhoods
- Nice weatherabout 228 pleasant days a year, better than 92% of neighborhoods
- Health outlookBetter than 90% of neighborhoods
Where Santa Teresa, San Jose ranks low
- Cheap childcare$2,106 a month, better than only 4% of neighborhoods
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 9% of neighborhoods
- Cell coverageBetter than only 16% of neighborhoods
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 20% of neighborhoods
- Short commute28.8 minutes each way, better than only 24% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in Santa Teresa, San Jose
A household needs to earn about $323,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Santa Teresa, San Jose home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $170,015, 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 Teresa, San Jose's effective rate of 0.79%, 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 Teresa, San Jose
Santa Teresa, San Jose'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 Teresa, San Jose.
Who works in Santa Teresa, San Jose, and how
Work in Santa Teresa, San Jose centers on professional & technical and manufacturing. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 75%
- Work from home 20%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in Santa Teresa, San Jose
Santa Teresa, San Jose has more parkland per resident than 71% of neighborhoods. The coast is about 31 minutes away. That concentrates in some parts of Santa Teresa, San Jose and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Santa Teresa, San Jose, month by month
Santa Teresa, San Jose sees roughly 228 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 85 degrees. January highs sit near 61, with lows near 44. The comfortable stretch runs February through November.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 61° | 54° | 44° |
| April | 71° | 62° | 50° |
| July | 85° | 75° | 60° |
| October | 78° | 68° | 54° |
Flying in and out of Santa Teresa, San Jose
Norman Y Mineta San Jose International sits about 11 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 Teresa, San Jose
Schools across Santa Teresa, San Jose average an A−, better than 86% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Graystone ElementaryA+ · 79% proficient
- Los Alamitos ElementaryA+ · 73% proficient
- Simonds ElementaryA+ · 73% proficient
Top middle schools
- Bret Harte MiddleA+ · 77% proficient
- Castillero MiddleB+ · 51% proficient
Top high schools
- Ann Sobrato HighA+ · 90% proficient
- Evergreen Valley HighA · 80% proficient
- Middle College HighA · 75% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Santa Teresa, San Jose school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Santa Teresa, San Jose 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 Teresa, San Jose against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Who Santa Teresa, San Jose suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 76% of neighborhoods and 20% already work from home.
Retirees
The weather beats 92% of neighborhoods and health care access beats 65%.
Common questions about living in Santa Teresa, San Jose
Is Santa Teresa, San Jose a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Santa Teresa, San Jose ranks 592nd of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on few empty homes, high incomes, and low crime, and lowest on childcare costs and disaster risk. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Santa Teresa, San Jose expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $1,236,486. The overall cost of living runs about 60% above the national average. Set against a $170,015 median income, cost of living beats 76% of neighborhoods.
Is Santa Teresa, San Jose safe?
Yes, Santa Teresa, San Jose is safer than 94% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $238 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Santa Teresa, San Jose?
July highs average about 85 degrees, and January highs near 61 with lows near 44. That works out to about 228 pleasant days a year, more than 92% of neighborhoods.
Is Santa Teresa, San Jose good for families?
Schools beat 86% of neighborhoods, crime safety beats 94%, and childcare runs $2,106 a month.
Compare Santa Teresa, San Jose with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Santa Teresa, San Jose. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Santa Teresa, San Jose 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 Teresa, San Jose detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Santa Teresa, San Jose: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Santa Teresa, San Jose: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Santa Teresa, San Jose: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Santa Teresa, San Jose: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Santa Teresa, San Jose 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.