WYLT Neighborhood Rankings · 2026

Best Neighborhoods
in California

Ranked by safety, schools, walkability, and value. Every verdict is based on real data — no sponsored rankings, no fluff.

25 neighborhoods reviewed
3 "Settle here" picks
22 "Good for now" picks

#1 Pick in California

San Francisco, San Francisco is the top-rated neighborhood in California — our highest verdict.

Top 25 Neighborhoods in California

#1

San Francisco

Settle here

San Francisco, CA

Price

$1.1M

Walk

90/100

Schools

5/10

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#2

Hermosa Beach

Settle here

Hermosa Beach, CA

Price

$1.9M

Walk

62/100

Schools

5/10

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#3

San Diego

Settle here

San Diego, CA

Price

$913K

Walk

82/100

Schools

5/10

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#4

San Diego

Good for now

San Diego, CA

Price

$776K

Walk

78/100

Schools

5/10

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#5

San Mateo

Good for now

San Mateo, CA

Price

$1.1M

Walk

53/100

Schools

5/10

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#6

Culver City

Good for now

Culver City, CA

Price

$1.4M

Walk

77/100

Schools

5/10

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#7

San Diego

Good for now

San Diego, CA

Price

$1.1M

Walk

75/100

Schools

5/10

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#8

Los Feliz

Good for now

Los Feliz, CA

Price

$1.6M

Walk

77/100

Schools

5/10

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#9

Pleasanton

Good for now

Pleasanton, CA

Price

$1.5M

Walk

63/100

Schools

5/10

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#10

Los Angeles

Good for now

Los Angeles, CA

Price

$1.1M

Walk

36/100

Schools

5/10

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#11

Los Angeles

Good for now

Los Angeles, CA

Price

$851K

Walk

57/100

Schools

5/10

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#12

Carlsbad

Good for now

Carlsbad, CA

Price

$1.1M

Walk

4/100

Schools

5/10

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#13

Folsom

Good for now

Folsom, CA

Price

$673K

Walk

31/100

Schools

5/10

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#14

Los Angeles

Good for now

Los Angeles, CA

Price

$1.9M

Walk

51/100

Schools

5/10

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#15

Encinitas

Good for now

Encinitas, CA

Price

$1.3M

Walk

25/100

Schools

5/10

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#16

Eagle Rock

Good for now

Eagle Rock, CA

Price

$1.0M

Walk

47/100

Schools

5/10

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#17

Studio City

Good for now

Studio City, CA

Price

$1.5M

Walk

46/100

Schools

5/10

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#18

Torrance

Good for now

Torrance, CA

Price

$825K

Walk

39/100

Schools

5/10

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#19

Burbank

Good for now

Burbank, CA

Price

$927K

Walk

35/100

Schools

5/10

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#20

Sherman Oaks

Good for now

Sherman Oaks, CA

Price

$1.3M

Walk

35/100

Schools

5/10

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#21

Redondo Beach

Good for now

Redondo Beach, CA

Price

$1.3M

Walk

28/100

Schools

5/10

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#22

Riverside

Good for now

Riverside, CA

Price

$440K

Walk

29/100

Schools

5/10

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#23

Davis

Good for now

Davis, CA

Price

$834K

Walk

23/100

Schools

5/10

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#24

Santa Ana

Good for now

Santa Ana, CA

Price

$579K

Walk

25/100

Schools

5/10

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#25

Oxnard

Good for now

Oxnard, CA

Price

$605K

Walk

24/100

Schools

5/10

View report →

How we rank neighborhoods in California

Every neighborhood on this list was evaluated using real data across four dimensions: safety (violent and property crime risk), schools (rating out of 10), walkability (Walk Score out of 100), and home prices relative to the California average. Our scoring model weighs each factor equally and assigns one of four plain-English verdicts — from "Settle here" (our highest rating) to "Hard pass" — so you know exactly where each place stands without having to decode letter grades.

Rankings are updated as new reports are generated. All data is sourced from public records, national databases, and our AI-assisted analysis. Click any neighborhood to read its full report.

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