Best PlacesWillow Glen, San Jose, CA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Willow Glen, San Jose, 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.
Willow Glen, San Jose ranks 1,087th of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on high incomes by a wide margin, and childcare costs are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Willow Glen, San Jose
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.
Willow Glen, San Jose's strengths and weaknesses
Where Willow Glen, San Jose ranks high
- Household income$153,601 median, better than 92% of neighborhoods
- Nice weatherabout 206 pleasant days a year, better than 88% of neighborhoods
- Health outlookBetter than 80% of neighborhoods
- Internet speedBetter than 80% of neighborhoods
- Crime safetyBetter than 80% of neighborhoods
Where Willow Glen, San Jose ranks low
- Cheap childcare$2,106 a month, better than only 4% of neighborhoods
- Cell coverageBetter than only 11% of neighborhoods
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 12% of neighborhoods
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 20% of neighborhoods
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 26% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in Willow Glen, San Jose
A household needs to earn about $380,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Willow Glen, San Jose home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $153,601, 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 Willow Glen, San Jose's effective rate of 0.74%, 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 Willow Glen, San Jose
Willow Glen, San Jose's age mix sits close to the national median.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Willow Glen, San Jose.
Who works in Willow Glen, San Jose, and how
Work in Willow Glen, San Jose centers on professional & technical and manufacturing. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 69%
- Work from home 23%
- Transit, walk, or bike 8%
Life in Willow Glen, San Jose
The coast is about 27 minutes away. Distance to the water changes a lot across Willow Glen, San Jose, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Willow Glen, San Jose, month by month
Willow Glen, San Jose sees roughly 206 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 84 degrees. January highs sit near 63, with lows near 42. The comfortable stretch runs March through November.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 63° | 52° | 42° |
| April | 73° | 59° | 48° |
| July | 84° | 69° | 58° |
| October | 80° | 65° | 53° |
Flying in and out of Willow Glen, San Jose
Norman Y Mineta San Jose International sits about 5 miles away. It is a medium hub and boarded 5.3 million passengers in 2025, with 67 nonstop destinations.
The best schools in and around Willow Glen, San Jose
Schools across Willow Glen, San Jose average a B, better than 76% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Booksin ElementaryA · 67% proficient
- Hammer Montessori At Galarza ElementaryA− · 58% proficient
- Schallenberger ElementaryB+ · 52% proficient
Top middle schools
- Willow Glen MiddleB+ · 48% proficient
- John Muir MiddleB · 44% proficient
- Herbert Hoover MiddleC− · 29% proficient
Top high schools
- University Preparatory Academy CharterA+ · 80% proficient
- Evergreen Valley HighA · 80% proficient
- Middle College HighA · 75% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Willow Glen, San Jose school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Willow Glen, San Jose 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 Willow Glen, San Jose against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Who Willow Glen, San Jose suits
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 23% already work from home.
Retirees
The weather beats 88% of neighborhoods and health care access beats 63%.
Common questions about living in Willow Glen, San Jose
Is Willow Glen, San Jose a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Willow Glen, San Jose ranks 1,087th of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on high incomes, the weather, and population health, and lowest on childcare costs and cell coverage. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Willow Glen, San Jose expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $1,468,138. The overall cost of living runs about 69% above the national average. Set against a $153,601 median income, cost of living beats 66% of neighborhoods.
Is Willow Glen, San Jose safe?
Yes, Willow Glen, San Jose is safer than 80% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $344 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Willow Glen, San Jose?
July highs average about 84 degrees, and January highs near 63 with lows near 42. That works out to about 206 pleasant days a year, more than 88% of neighborhoods.
Is Willow Glen, San Jose good for families?
Schools beat 76% of neighborhoods, crime safety beats 80%, and childcare runs $2,106 a month.
Compare Willow Glen, San Jose with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Willow Glen, San Jose. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Willow Glen, San Jose 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.
Willow Glen, San Jose detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Willow Glen, San Jose: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Willow Glen, San Jose: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Willow Glen, San Jose: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Willow Glen, San Jose: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Willow Glen, San Jose 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.