Best PlacesSerra Highlands, South San Francisco, CA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Serra Highlands, South San Francisco, 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.
Serra Highlands, South San Francisco ranks 1,196th of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on high incomes by a wide margin, and childcare costs are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Serra Highlands, South San Francisco
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.
Serra Highlands, South San Francisco's strengths and weaknesses
Where Serra Highlands, South San Francisco ranks high
- Household income$173,809 median, better than 96% of neighborhoods
- Nice weatherabout 229 pleasant days a year, better than 92% of neighborhoods
- Health outlookBetter than 84% of neighborhoods
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 84% of neighborhoods
- Low property taxBetter than 84% of neighborhoods
Where Serra Highlands, South San Francisco ranks low
- Cheap childcare$2,233 a month, better than only 2% of neighborhoods
- Cell coverageBetter than only 13% of neighborhoods
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 14% of neighborhoods
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 20% of neighborhoods
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 26% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in Serra Highlands, South San Francisco
A household needs to earn about $326,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Serra Highlands, South San Francisco home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $173,809, 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 Serra Highlands, South San Francisco's effective rate of 0.60%, 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 Serra Highlands, South San Francisco
Serra Highlands, South San Francisco runs older 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 Serra Highlands, South San Francisco.
Who works in Serra Highlands, South San Francisco, and how
Work in Serra Highlands, South San Francisco centers on health care & social and professional & technical. Unemployment is low, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 72%
- Work from home 17%
- Transit, walk, or bike 10%
Life in Serra Highlands, South San Francisco
The coast is about 5 minutes away. Distance to the water changes a lot across Serra Highlands, South San Francisco, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Serra Highlands, South San Francisco, month by month
Serra Highlands, South San Francisco sees roughly 229 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 74 degrees. January highs sit near 60, with lows near 46. The comfortable stretch runs April through November.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 60° | 53° | 46° |
| April | 68° | 57° | 49° |
| July | 74° | 62° | 56° |
| October | 75° | 62° | 54° |
Flying in and out of Serra Highlands, South San Francisco
San Francisco International sits about 5 miles away. It is a large hub and boarded 26.5 million passengers in 2025, with 193 nonstop destinations.
The best schools in and around Serra Highlands, South San Francisco
Schools across Serra Highlands, South San Francisco average a B−, better than 65% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Buri Buri ElementaryB · 47% proficient
- Ponderosa ElementaryC+ · 38% proficient
Top middle schools
- Alta Loma MiddleC · 31% proficient
Top high schools
- El Camino HighB · 50% proficient
- South San Francisco HighB− · 44% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Serra Highlands, South San Francisco school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Serra Highlands, South San Francisco 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 Serra Highlands, South San Francisco against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in Serra Highlands, South San Francisco
Is Serra Highlands, South San Francisco a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Serra Highlands, South San Francisco ranks 1,196th of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on high incomes, the weather, and population health, and lowest on childcare costs and cell coverage. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Serra Highlands, South San Francisco expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $1,282,724. The overall cost of living runs about 48% above the national average. Set against a $173,809 median income, cost of living beats 84% of neighborhoods.
Is Serra Highlands, South San Francisco safe?
Serra Highlands, South San Francisco is safer than 50% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $472 per resident a year.
Compare Serra Highlands, South San Francisco with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Serra Highlands, South San Francisco. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Serra Highlands, South San Francisco 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.
Serra Highlands, South San Francisco detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Serra Highlands, South San Francisco: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Serra Highlands, South San Francisco: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Serra Highlands, South San Francisco: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Serra Highlands, South San Francisco: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Serra Highlands, South San Francisco 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.