Best PlacesSouth Coast, Santa Ana, CA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around South Coast, Santa Ana, 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 Coast, Santa Ana ranks 1,283rd of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on the weather by a wide margin, and internet speeds rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in South Coast, Santa Ana
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 Coast, Santa Ana's strengths and weaknesses
Where South Coast, Santa Ana ranks high
- Nice weatherabout 325 pleasant days a year, better than 98% of neighborhoods
- Low vacancyBetter than 97% of neighborhoods
- Crime safetyBetter than 94% of neighborhoods
- Big-city accessBetter than 92% of neighborhoods
- Household income$126,891 median, better than 84% of neighborhoods
Where South Coast, Santa Ana ranks low
- Internet speedBetter than only 2% of neighborhoods
- Air qualityBetter than only 11% of neighborhoods
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 12% of neighborhoods
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 18% of neighborhoods
- QuietBetter than only 18% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in South Coast, Santa Ana
A household needs to earn about $154,000 a year to comfortably buy the median South Coast, Santa Ana home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $126,891, 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 Coast, Santa Ana's effective rate of 0.73%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices, buying tends to cost more than renting for about the first 9 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in South Coast, Santa Ana
South Coast, Santa Ana'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 South Coast, Santa Ana.
Who works in South Coast, Santa Ana, and how
Work in South Coast, Santa Ana centers on health care & social and manufacturing. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 74%
- Work from home 16%
- Transit, walk, or bike 10%
Life in South Coast, Santa Ana
The coast is about 7 minutes away. Distance to the water changes a lot across South Coast, Santa Ana, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in South Coast, Santa Ana, month by month
South Coast, Santa Ana sees roughly 325 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 81 degrees. January highs sit near 69, with lows near 48. Every month averages in that range.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 69° | 58° | 48° |
| April | 73° | 63° | 56° |
| July | 81° | 72° | 66° |
| October | 81° | 69° | 61° |
Flying in and out of South Coast, Santa Ana
John Wayne/Orange County sits about 2 miles away. It is a medium hub and boarded 5.5 million passengers in 2025, with 80 nonstop destinations.
The best schools in and around South Coast, Santa Ana
Schools across South Coast, Santa Ana average a C, better than 40% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Jim Thorpe FundamentalC+ · 37% proficient
Top high schools
- Hector G. GodinezC+ · 35% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every South Coast, Santa Ana school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
South Coast, Santa Ana 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 Coast, Santa Ana against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in South Coast, Santa Ana
Is South Coast, Santa Ana a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, South Coast, Santa Ana ranks 1,283rd of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on the weather, few empty homes, and low crime, and lowest on internet speeds and air quality. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is South Coast, Santa Ana expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $593,146. The overall cost of living runs about 37% above the national average. Set against a $126,891 median income, cost of living beats 60% of neighborhoods.
Is South Coast, Santa Ana safe?
Yes, South Coast, Santa Ana is safer than 94% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $216 per resident a year.
Compare South Coast, Santa Ana with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to South Coast, Santa Ana. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in South Coast, Santa Ana 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 Coast, Santa Ana detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for South Coast, Santa Ana: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in South Coast, Santa Ana: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of South Coast, Santa Ana: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in South Coast, Santa Ana: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
South Coast, Santa Ana 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.