Best PlacesSoledad, CA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Soledad, 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.
Soledad ranks 1,458th of 2,098 U.S. cities on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on few empty homes by a wide margin, and internet speeds rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Soledad
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.
Soledad's strengths and weaknesses
Where Soledad ranks high
- Low vacancyBetter than 99% of cities
- Nice weatherabout 222 pleasant days a year, better than 93% of cities
- Air qualityBetter than 84% of cities
- Local economyBetter than 84% of cities
- QuietBetter than 81% of cities
Where Soledad ranks low
- Internet speedBetter than only 1% of cities
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 1% of cities
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 1% of cities
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 1% of cities
- Tree shadeBetter than only 3% of cities
What it costs to buy a home in Soledad
A household needs to earn about $157,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Soledad home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $98,787, 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 Soledad's effective rate of 0.68%, 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 Soledad
Soledad 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 Soledad.
Who works in Soledad, and how
Work in Soledad centers on construction and agriculture & forestry. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 93%
- Work from home 4%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in Soledad
The coast is about 44 minutes away. Distance to the water changes a lot across Soledad, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Soledad, month by month
Soledad sees roughly 222 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 72 degrees. January highs sit near 64, with lows near 42. The comfortable stretch runs April through November.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 64° | 52° | 42° |
| April | 69° | 56° | 47° |
| July | 72° | 62° | 55° |
| October | 78° | 61° | 50° |
Flying in and out of Soledad
The nearest airport, Monterey Regional, is about 30 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Norman Y Mineta San Jose International, about 72 miles away.
The best schools in and around Soledad
Schools across Soledad average a C+, better than 48% of cities.
Top elementary schools
- San Vicente ElementaryB · 50% proficient
- La Gloria ElementaryD · 20% proficient
Top high schools
- King City HighC · 30% proficient
- Gonzales HighC− · 30% proficient
- Greenfield HighD · 23% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Soledad school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Soledad 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 Soledad against the other 2,097 cities.
Who Soledad suits
Families
Schools land around the 48th percentile and crime safety beats 55%.
Common questions about living in Soledad
Is Soledad a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Soledad ranks 1,458th of 2,098 cities. It scores highest on few empty homes, the weather, and clean air, and lowest on internet speeds and education levels. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Soledad expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $609,336. The overall cost of living runs about 16% above the national average. Set against a $98,787 median income, cost of living beats 24% of cities.
Is Soledad safe?
Yes, Soledad is safer than 55% of cities. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $322 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Soledad?
July highs average about 72 degrees, and January highs near 64 with lows near 42. That works out to about 222 pleasant days a year, more than 93% of cities.
Is Soledad good for families?
Schools beat 48% of cities, crime safety beats 55%, and childcare runs $1,371 a month.
Compare Soledad with other cities
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Soledad. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Soledad 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.
Soledad detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Soledad: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Soledad: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Soledad: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Soledad: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Soledad 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.