Best PlacesSouth of Market, San Francisco, CA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around South of Market, 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.
South of Market, San Francisco ranks 1,004th of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on transit by a wide margin, and childcare costs are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in South of Market, 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.
South of Market, San Francisco's strengths and weaknesses
Where South of Market, San Francisco ranks high
- TransitBetter than 99% of neighborhoods
- WalkabilityBetter than 98% of neighborhoods
- BikingBetter than 95% of neighborhoods
- Health outlookBetter than 95% of neighborhoods
- Household income$156,160 median, better than 92% of neighborhoods
Where South of Market, San Francisco ranks low
- Cheap childcare$2,439 a month, better than only 1% of neighborhoods
- Tree shadeBetter than only 4% of neighborhoods
- Crime safetyBetter than only 5% of neighborhoods
- Low vacancyBetter than only 15% of neighborhoods
- QuietBetter than only 16% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in South of Market, San Francisco
A household needs to earn about $327,000 a year to comfortably buy the median South of Market, San Francisco home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $156,160, 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 of Market, San Francisco's effective rate of 1.07%, 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 of Market, San Francisco
South of Market, San Francisco 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 of Market, San Francisco.
Who works in South of Market, San Francisco, and how
Work in South of Market, San Francisco centers on professional & technical and health care & social. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 19%
- Work from home 36%
- Transit, walk, or bike 44%
Life in South of Market, San Francisco
South of Market, San Francisco has more restaurants and bars per resident than 84% of neighborhoods. The coast is about 7 minutes away. That concentrates in some parts of South of Market, San Francisco and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in South of Market, San Francisco, month by month
South of Market, San Francisco sees roughly 224 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 of Market, San Francisco
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.
South of Market, 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 South of Market, San Francisco against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Who South of Market, San Francisco suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 81% of neighborhoods and 36% already work from home.
Common questions about living in South of Market, San Francisco
Is South of Market, San Francisco a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, South of Market, San Francisco ranks 1,004th of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on transit, walkability, and biking, and lowest on childcare costs and tree cover. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is South of Market, San Francisco expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $1,206,380. The overall cost of living runs about 55% above the national average. Set against a $156,160 median income, cost of living beats 81% of neighborhoods.
Is South of Market, San Francisco safe?
South of Market, San Francisco is safer than 5% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $1,151 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in South of Market, San Francisco?
July highs average about 74 degrees, and January highs near 61 with lows near 43. That works out to about 224 pleasant days a year, more than 90% of neighborhoods.
Is South of Market, San Francisco good for families?
Schools beat 61% of neighborhoods, crime safety beats 5%, and childcare runs $2,439 a month.
Compare South of Market, San Francisco with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to South of Market, San Francisco. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in South of Market, 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.
South of Market, San Francisco detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for South of Market, San Francisco: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in South of Market, San Francisco: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of South of Market, San Francisco: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in South of Market, San Francisco: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
South of Market, 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.