Best PlacesUpper Rockridge, Oakland, CA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Upper Rockridge, Oakland, 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.
Upper Rockridge, Oakland ranks 636th of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on an educated workforce by a wide margin, and childcare costs are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Upper Rockridge, Oakland
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.
Upper Rockridge, Oakland's strengths and weaknesses
Where Upper Rockridge, Oakland ranks high
- Educational attainmentBetter than 98% of neighborhoods
- Household income$233,851 median, better than 98% of neighborhoods
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 98% of neighborhoods
- Healthcare accessBetter than 96% of neighborhoods
- Voter turnoutBetter than 92% of neighborhoods
Where Upper Rockridge, Oakland ranks low
- Cheap childcare$2,082 a month, better than only 5% of neighborhoods
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 15% of neighborhoods
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 20% of neighborhoods
- Cell coverageBetter than only 20% of neighborhoods
- WalkabilityBetter than only 22% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in Upper Rockridge, Oakland
A household needs to earn about $484,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Upper Rockridge, Oakland home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $233,851, 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 Upper Rockridge, Oakland's effective rate of 0.90%, 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 Upper Rockridge, Oakland
Upper Rockridge, Oakland runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Upper Rockridge, Oakland.
Who works in Upper Rockridge, Oakland, and how
Work in Upper Rockridge, Oakland 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 46%
- Work from home 41%
- Transit, walk, or bike 13%
Life in Upper Rockridge, Oakland
Upper Rockridge, Oakland has more parkland per resident than 84% of neighborhoods. The coast is about 16 minutes away. That concentrates in some parts of Upper Rockridge, Oakland and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Upper Rockridge, Oakland, month by month
Upper Rockridge, Oakland sees roughly 212 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 Upper Rockridge, Oakland
San Francisco Bay Oakland International sits about 8 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 Upper Rockridge, Oakland
Schools across Upper Rockridge, Oakland average a B+, better than 81% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Havens ElementaryA+ · 79% proficient
Top middle schools
- Piedmont MiddleA+ · 78% proficient
Top high schools
- Berkeley HighA+ · 84% proficient
- Piedmont HighA · 78% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Upper Rockridge, Oakland school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Upper Rockridge, Oakland 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 Upper Rockridge, Oakland against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in Upper Rockridge, Oakland
Is Upper Rockridge, Oakland a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Upper Rockridge, Oakland ranks 636th of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on an educated workforce, high incomes, and what local pay buys, 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 Upper Rockridge, Oakland expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $1,826,702. The overall cost of living runs about 44% above the national average. Set against a $233,851 median income, cost of living beats 98% of neighborhoods.
Is Upper Rockridge, Oakland safe?
Upper Rockridge, Oakland is safer than 29% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $639 per resident a year.
Compare Upper Rockridge, Oakland with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Upper Rockridge, Oakland. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Upper Rockridge, Oakland 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.
Upper Rockridge, Oakland detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Upper Rockridge, Oakland: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Upper Rockridge, Oakland: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Upper Rockridge, Oakland: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Upper Rockridge, Oakland: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Upper Rockridge, Oakland 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.