Best PlacesTemecula, CA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Temecula, 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.
Temecula ranks 56th of 445 U.S. cities on the BestNeighborhood index. Paychecks stretch further here than almost anywhere else: the median household brings in $134,464, wages outrun the cost of living, and a strong job market ranks near the top of the country. The main drawbacks are long commutes, walkability, and an overheated housing market.
The best neighborhoods in Temecula
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.
Temecula's strengths and weaknesses
Temecula ranks where it does because the parts of life that are hardest to change mostly work here. Quiet is the standout, in the top 2% of cities. The weather and high incomes follow.
The one real hole is long commutes, near the bottom of the country. Walkability and an overheated housing market also cost it ground. The measures below break that down, and the map shows how much of it holds street by street.
Where Temecula ranks high
- QuietBetter than 98% of cities
- Nice weatherabout 291 pleasant days a year, better than 97% of cities
- Household income$134,464 median, better than 94% of cities
- Crime safetyBetter than 93% of cities
- Internet speedBetter than 91% of cities
Where Temecula ranks low
- Short commute36.1 minutes each way, better than only 3% of cities
- WalkabilityBetter than only 10% of cities
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 12% of cities
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 12% of cities
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 15% of cities
What it costs to buy a home in Temecula
A household needs to earn about $196,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Temecula home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $134,464, 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 Temecula's effective rate of 0.82%, 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 Temecula
Temecula'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 Temecula.
Who works in Temecula, and how
Work in Temecula centers on health care & social and education. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 77%
- Work from home 20%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in Temecula
Temecula has more restaurants and bars per resident than 88% of cities and more parkland per resident than 92% of cities. The coast is about 35 minutes away. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Temecula and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Temecula, month by month
Temecula sees roughly 291 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 89 degrees. January highs sit near 69, with lows near 47. Every month averages in that range.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 69° | 55° | 47° |
| April | 75° | 60° | 51° |
| July | 89° | 72° | 61° |
| October | 85° | 68° | 59° |
Flying in and out of Temecula
The nearest airport, McClellan-Palomar, is about 28 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is John Wayne/Orange County, about 45 miles away.
The best schools in and around Temecula
Schools across Temecula average a B−, better than 60% of cities.
Top middle schools
- Rancho Viejo MiddleD+ · 25% proficient
- Diamond Valley MiddleD− · 15% proficient
Top high schools
- HamiltonC · 32% proficient
- West Valley HighD+ · 24% proficient
- Tahquitz HighD · 23% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Temecula school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Temecula 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 Temecula against the other 444 cities.
Who Temecula suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 84% of cities, internet is fast and widely advertised, and 20% already work from home.
Retirees
The weather beats 97% of cities, health care access beats 80%, and it is quieter than 98%.
Common questions about living in Temecula
Is Temecula a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Temecula ranks 56th of 445 cities. It scores highest on quiet, the weather, and high incomes, and lowest on long commutes and walkability. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Temecula expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $745,829. The overall cost of living runs about 19% above the national average. Set against a $134,464 median income, cost of living beats 84% of cities.
Is Temecula safe?
Yes, Temecula is safer than 93% of cities. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $263 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Temecula?
July highs average about 89 degrees, and January highs near 69 with lows near 47. That works out to about 291 pleasant days a year, more than 97% of cities.
Is Temecula good for families?
Schools beat 60% of cities, crime safety beats 93%, and childcare runs $1,337 a month.
Is Temecula good for remote workers?
Cost of living against local pay beats 84% of cities, and the fastest advertised internet here beats 91% of cities. About 20% of workers already work from home.
Compare Temecula with other cities
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Temecula. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Temecula 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.
Temecula detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Temecula: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Temecula: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Temecula: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Temecula: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Temecula 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.