Best PlacesVandenberg Air Force Base, CA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Vandenberg Air Force Base, 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.
Vandenberg Air Force Base ranks 14,356th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on population health by a wide margin, and civic engagement ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Vandenberg Air Force Base
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.
Vandenberg Air Force Base's strengths and weaknesses
Where Vandenberg Air Force Base ranks high
- Health outlookBetter than 99% of towns
- Short commute10.7 minutes each way, better than 99% of towns
- Low vacancyBetter than 98% of towns
- Nice weatherabout 179 pleasant days a year, better than 98% of towns
- Air qualityBetter than 96% of towns
Where Vandenberg Air Force Base ranks low
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 1% of towns
- Cheap childcare$1,613 a month, better than only 2% of towns
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 2% of towns
- BikingBetter than only 3% of towns
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 8% of towns
Who lives in Vandenberg Air Force Base
Vandenberg Air Force Base runs younger than the country, 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 Vandenberg Air Force Base.
Who works in Vandenberg Air Force Base, and how
Work in Vandenberg Air Force Base centers on health care & social and retail trade. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 80%
- Work from home 7%
- Transit, walk, or bike 13%
Life in Vandenberg Air Force Base
The coast is about 30 minutes away. Distance to the water changes a lot across Vandenberg Air Force Base, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Vandenberg Air Force Base, month by month
Vandenberg Air Force Base sees roughly 179 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 68 degrees. January highs sit near 64, with lows near 42. The comfortable stretch runs May through November.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 64° | 52° | 42° |
| April | 65° | 54° | 45° |
| July | 68° | 58° | 52° |
| October | 73° | 59° | 48° |
Flying in and out of Vandenberg Air Force Base
The nearest airport, Santa Maria Public/Capt G Allan Hancock Field, is about 11 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Bob Hope, about 131 miles away.
The best schools in and around Vandenberg Air Force Base
Schools across Vandenberg Air Force Base average a B−, better than 68% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Crestview ElementaryB · 50% proficient
- Manzanita Public CharterC+ · 36% proficient
Top middle schools
- Vandenberg MiddleD+ · 25% proficient
Top high schools
- Cabrillo HighA− · 65% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Vandenberg Air Force Base school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Vandenberg Air Force Base 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 Vandenberg Air Force Base against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Vandenberg Air Force Base
Is Vandenberg Air Force Base a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Vandenberg Air Force Base ranks 14,356th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on population health, short commutes, and few empty homes, and lowest on civic engagement and childcare costs. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Vandenberg Air Force Base safe?
Vandenberg Air Force Base is safer than 29% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $396 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Vandenberg Air Force Base?
July highs average about 68 degrees, and January highs near 64 with lows near 42. That works out to about 179 pleasant days a year, more than 98% of towns.
Compare Vandenberg Air Force Base with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Vandenberg Air Force Base. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Vandenberg Air Force Base 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.
Vandenberg Air Force Base detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Vandenberg Air Force Base: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Vandenberg Air Force Base: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Vandenberg Air Force Base: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Vandenberg Air Force Base: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Vandenberg Air Force Base 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.
- 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.