Best PlacesSouth Berkeley, Berkeley, CA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around South Berkeley, Berkeley, 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.
South Berkeley, Berkeley ranks 1,989th of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on biking by a wide margin, and childcare costs are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in South Berkeley, Berkeley
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.
South Berkeley, Berkeley's strengths and weaknesses
Where South Berkeley, Berkeley ranks high
- BikingBetter than 98% of neighborhoods
- WalkabilityBetter than 96% of neighborhoods
- Educational attainmentBetter than 92% of neighborhoods
- TransitBetter than 91% of neighborhoods
- Nice weatherabout 219 pleasant days a year, better than 89% of neighborhoods
Where South Berkeley, Berkeley ranks low
- Cheap childcare$2,082 a month, better than only 5% of neighborhoods
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 7% of neighborhoods
- Low vacancyBetter than only 11% of neighborhoods
- Crime safetyBetter than only 18% of neighborhoods
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 20% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in South Berkeley, Berkeley
A household needs to earn about $314,000 a year to comfortably buy the median South Berkeley, Berkeley home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $88,587, 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 South Berkeley, Berkeley's effective rate of 0.76%, 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 South Berkeley, Berkeley
South Berkeley, Berkeley runs younger 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 South Berkeley, Berkeley.
Who works in South Berkeley, Berkeley, and how
Work in South Berkeley, Berkeley centers on education and professional & technical. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 29%
- Work from home 33%
- Transit, walk, or bike 38%
Life in South Berkeley, Berkeley
South Berkeley, Berkeley has more restaurants and bars per resident than 77% of neighborhoods. The coast is about 16 minutes away. That concentrates in some parts of South Berkeley, Berkeley and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in South Berkeley, Berkeley, month by month
South Berkeley, Berkeley sees roughly 219 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 74 degrees. January highs sit near 61, with lows near 43. The comfortable stretch runs March through November.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 61° | 52° | 43° |
| April | 68° | 57° | 49° |
| July | 74° | 63° | 56° |
| October | 76° | 63° | 51° |
Flying in and out of South Berkeley, Berkeley
San Francisco Bay Oakland International sits about 10 miles away. It is a medium hub and boarded 4.5 million passengers in 2025, with 64 nonstop destinations.
The best schools in and around South Berkeley, Berkeley
Schools across South Berkeley, Berkeley average a B+, better than 86% of neighborhoods.
Top high schools
- Berkeley HighA+ · 84% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every South Berkeley, Berkeley school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
South Berkeley, Berkeley 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 South Berkeley, Berkeley against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in South Berkeley, Berkeley
Is South Berkeley, Berkeley a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, South Berkeley, Berkeley ranks 1,989th of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on biking, walkability, and an educated workforce, 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 South Berkeley, Berkeley expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $1,209,791. The overall cost of living runs about 42% above the national average. Set against a $88,587 median income, cost of living beats 28% of neighborhoods.
Is South Berkeley, Berkeley safe?
South Berkeley, Berkeley is safer than 18% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $780 per resident a year.
Compare South Berkeley, Berkeley with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to South Berkeley, Berkeley. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in South Berkeley, Berkeley 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.
South Berkeley, Berkeley detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for South Berkeley, Berkeley: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in South Berkeley, Berkeley: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of South Berkeley, Berkeley: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in South Berkeley, Berkeley: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
South Berkeley, Berkeley 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.