Best PlacesSouth Shore, Alameda, CA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around South Shore, Alameda, 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 Shore, Alameda ranks 1,142nd of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on quiet by a wide margin, and childcare costs are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in South Shore, Alameda
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 Shore, Alameda's strengths and weaknesses
Where South Shore, Alameda ranks high
- QuietBetter than 95% of neighborhoods
- BikingBetter than 94% of neighborhoods
- Big-city accessBetter than 90% of neighborhoods
- Nice weatherabout 224 pleasant days a year, better than 90% of neighborhoods
- Internet speedBetter than 87% of neighborhoods
Where South Shore, Alameda ranks low
- Cheap childcare$2,082 a month, better than only 5% of neighborhoods
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 9% of neighborhoods
- Tree shadeBetter than only 10% of neighborhoods
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 20% of neighborhoods
- Short commute28.9 minutes each way, better than only 23% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in South Shore, Alameda
A household needs to earn about $277,000 a year to comfortably buy the median South Shore, Alameda home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $130,095, 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 Shore, Alameda'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 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 Shore, Alameda
South Shore, Alameda runs older 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 Shore, Alameda.
Who works in South Shore, Alameda, and how
Work in South Shore, Alameda centers on professional & technical and health care & social. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 49%
- Work from home 32%
- Transit, walk, or bike 19%
Life in South Shore, Alameda
The coast is about 20 minutes away. Distance to the water changes a lot across South Shore, Alameda, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in South Shore, Alameda, month by month
South Shore, Alameda 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 Shore, Alameda
San Francisco Bay Oakland International sits about 3 miles away. It is a medium hub and boarded 4.5 million passengers in 2025, with 64 nonstop destinations.
South Shore, Alameda 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 Shore, Alameda against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in South Shore, Alameda
Is South Shore, Alameda a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, South Shore, Alameda ranks 1,142nd of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on quiet, biking, and big-city access, 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 Shore, Alameda expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $1,068,727. The overall cost of living runs about 32% above the national average. Set against a $130,095 median income, cost of living beats 74% of neighborhoods.
Is South Shore, Alameda safe?
South Shore, Alameda is safer than 28% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $657 per resident a year.
Compare South Shore, Alameda with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to South Shore, Alameda. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in South Shore, Alameda 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 Shore, Alameda detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for South Shore, Alameda: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in South Shore, Alameda: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of South Shore, Alameda: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in South Shore, Alameda: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
South Shore, Alameda 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.