You likely had some very fond memories of childhood that you want to pass on to your children. You also likely have things you would change if you could. So what are some important factors to think about when you do start thinking about where to raise your children?
Crime levels, the quality of schools, and proximity to other children for your kids to make close friendships with are probably some of the key aspects to think about when deciding where to raise your family. The first decision to make is what state to raise your family in. Well, that is an easy one: California.
California is one of America’s most famous states and for a good reason. Who wouldn’t want to grow up under the palm trees, walking up and down the streets of San Francisco or San Diego, and hiking along the Pacific Crest Trail? California has something for everyone. You can be a surfer, a climber, a city-dweller, or even just a cafe-hopper. But within California, there are certain cities that stand out for families. These cities are both affordable and packed with family-friendliness. HomeSnacks has figured out the answer to those questions for you based on the most Census and FBI data.
So strap on your rollerblades, get your matcha, pull up the mini van, and read on to see which places in California offer the most for starting a family.
$148,480 median income · 38.2% households with kids
Located in
Ventura County, California
Moorpark is a city in Ventura County in Southern California. Moorpark was founded in 1900 when the application for the Moorpark Post Office was approved and Inocencio C. Villegas was named Moorpark’s first postmaster on August 8 of that year. The townsite of Moorpark was owned and surveyed by Robert W. Poindexter and his wife, Madeline. The town has experienced a great amount of growth since the late 1970s. The population was 34,421 at the 2010 census, up from 31,415 at the 2000 census.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$190,124 median income · 38.8% households with kids
Located in
Alameda County, California
Pleasanton is a city in Alameda County, California, incorporated in 1894. It is a suburb in the San Francisco Bay Area located about 25 miles east of Oakland, and 6 miles west of Livermore. The population was 70,285 at the 2010 census. In 2005 and 2007, Pleasanton was ranked the wealthiest middle-sized city in the United States by the Census Bureau. Pleasanton is home to the headquarters of Workday, Ellie Mae, Roche Molecular Diagnostics, Blackhawk Network Holdings, and Veeva Systems. Other major employers include Kaiser Permanente, Safeway, Oracle, Nordstrom and Macy’s. Although Oakland is the Alameda County seat, a few county offices and a courthouse are located in Pleasanton. The Alameda County Fairgrounds are located in Pleasanton, where the county fair is held during the last week of June and the first week of July. Pleasanton Ridge Regional Park is located on the west side of town.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$214,167 median income · 36.1% households with kids
Located in
Los Angeles County, California
San Marino is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Incorporated on April 12, 1913, the city was designed by its founders to be uniquely residential, with expansive properties surrounded by beautiful gardens, wide streets, and well maintained parkways. The city is located in the San Rafael Hills. The population was 13,147 at the 2010 census.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$216,193 median income · 37.7% households with kids
Located in
Contra Costa County, California
Moraga is a suburban incorporated town located in Contra Costa County, California, United States, in the San Francisco Bay Area. It is named in honor of Joaquin Moraga, whose grandfather was Jos Joaquin Moraga, second in command to Juan Bautista de Anza. As of 2010, Moraga had a total population of 16,016people.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$250,001 median income · 32.8% households with kids
Located in
Santa Clara County, California
Saratoga is a city in Santa Clara County, California, United States. It is located on the west side of the Santa Clara Valley, directly west of San Jose, in the San Francisco Bay Area. The population was 29,926 at the 2010 census. Located on the Western edge of the Silicon Valley, Saratoga is known locally for its suburban small-town feel, wineries, and high-end restaurants. Major attractions of Saratoga include Villa Montalvo, Hakone Gardens, and the Mountain Winery.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$217,554 median income · 33.7% households with kids
Located in
Santa Clara County, California
Los Gatos is an incorporated U.S. town in Santa Clara County, California. The population is 30,391 according to the 2013 United States Census Bureau. According to Bloomberg Businessweek, Los Gatos is ranked the 33rd wealthiest city in the United States. It is located in the San Francisco Bay Area at the southwest corner of San Jose in the foothills of the Santa Cruz Mountains. Los Gatos is part of Silicon Valley, with several high technology companies maintaining a presence there. Most notably, streaming and content creator, Netflix is headquartered in Los Gatos and has developed a large presence in the area.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$113,428 median income · 30.0% households with kids
Located in
Ventura County, California
Camarillo is a city in Ventura County in the U.S. state of California. The population was 65,201 at the 2010 census, up from 57,084 at the 2000 census. The Ventura Freeway is the city’s primary thoroughfare. Camarillo is named for Adolfo and Juan Camarillo, two of the few Californios to preserve the city’s heritage after the arrival of Anglo settlers. The railroad coast route came through in 1898 and built a station here. Adolfo Camarillo eventually employed 700 workers growing mainly lima beans. Walnuts and citrus were also grown on the ranch. Adolfo bred Camarillo White Horses in the 1920s through the 1960s and was well known for riding them, dressed in colorful Spanish attire, in parades such as the Fiesta of Santa Barbara.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$231,101 median income · 32.8% households with kids
Located in
Santa Clara County, California
Palo Alto is a charter city located in the northwest corner of Santa Clara County, California, in the San Francisco Bay Area of the United States.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$136,123 median income · 29.5% households with kids
Located in
Orange County, California
Mission Viejo is a city in Orange County, California, United States in the Saddleback Valley. Mission Viejo is considered one of the largest master-planned communities ever built under a single project in the United States, and is rivaled only by Highlands Ranch, Colorado, in its size. Its population as of 2014 was estimated at 96,346.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$206,212 median income · 29.3% households with kids
Located in
Marin County, California
Mill Valley is a city in Marin County, California, United States, located about 14 miles north of San Francisco via the Golden Gate Bridge. The population was 13,903 at the 2010 census.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
The receipts
Compare the top ten
Pick a metric. The bars rescale. The red line is California’s statewide median.
California statewide median: $99,122
California statewide median: $774,582
On the map
Where California’s most family-friendly cities are
Saturday Night Science
Methodology: How do you determine which place is best for families in California anyways?
To give you the places in California that are best for families, we must look at a handful of metrics. We want to measure the criteria people want in a family-friendly city utilizing Saturday Night Science.
After researching U.S. Census data produced for the state of California, we looked at the data for every single city in the state. We paid particular attention to:
- Crime (Both violent and property)
- Quality of local schools
- Distance to a major city without necessarily being in it
- % of households with children
- Family-friendly amenities nearby (museums, libraries, and colleges)
We then gave each city a “Family Score.”
The higher the score, the better the city is for families. We also limited our results to cities with over 10,000 people. For California, that meant a total of 347 cities.
We updated this article for 2026. This is our eleventh time ranking the best cities for families in California.
The full plate
Best Places For Families In California
Click any column to sort. Search by city name.
| Rank | City | Population | Median Income | Average Home Price | % Households w/ Kids |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Moorpark | 35,854 | $148,480 | $939,094 | 38.2% |
| 2 | Pleasanton | 76,960 | $190,124 | $1,601,646 | 38.8% |
| 3 | San Marino | 12,216 | $214,167 | $2,837,216 | 36.1% |
| 4 | Moraga | 16,769 | $216,193 | $1,666,830 | 37.7% |
| 5 | Saratoga | 30,319 | $250,001 | $4,189,623 | 32.8% |
| 6 | Los Gatos | 32,786 | $217,554 | $2,705,289 | 33.7% |
| 7 | Camarillo | 70,186 | $113,428 | $924,929 | 30.0% |
| 8 | Palo Alto | 67,237 | $231,101 | $3,722,200 | 32.8% |
| 9 | Mission Viejo | 92,151 | $136,123 | $1,229,743 | 29.5% |
| 10 | Mill Valley | 14,012 | $206,212 | $2,073,166 | 29.3% |
| 11 | Cupertino | 58,566 | $234,707 | $3,189,452 | 39.6% |
| 12 | Imperial | 21,430 | $90,195 | $437,251 | 46.9% |
| 13 | Calabasas | 22,669 | $165,288 | $1,722,904 | 31.6% |
| 14 | Rancho Palos Verdes | 40,864 | $179,623 | $1,824,948 | 31.1% |
| 15 | Orinda | 19,514 | $250,001 | $1,985,117 | 37.8% |
| 16 | Yorba Linda | 67,170 | $157,582 | $1,419,513 | 34.2% |
| 17 | Folsom | 83,916 | $139,804 | $763,784 | 37.3% |
| 18 | Danville | 43,401 | $232,216 | $1,908,521 | 39.0% |
| 19 | Pleasant Hill | 34,235 | $145,029 | $1,000,859 | 31.7% |
| 20 | Lafayette | 25,285 | $228,250 | $1,934,581 | 37.8% |
| 21 | Santa Clara | 130,256 | $178,958 | $1,782,192 | 27.6% |
| 22 | Los Altos | 30,698 | $250,001 | $4,713,315 | 37.7% |
| 23 | Fremont | 228,295 | $181,506 | $1,543,132 | 40.9% |
| 24 | Aliso Viejo | 51,113 | $142,439 | $1,012,225 | 33.3% |
| 25 | San Mateo | 103,105 | $153,504 | $1,686,905 | 27.7% |
| 26 | Sierra Madre | 10,940 | $143,547 | $1,437,492 | 26.4% |
| 27 | San Ramon | 85,993 | $196,161 | $1,543,534 | 43.8% |
| 28 | Hillsborough | 11,099 | $250,001 | $5,279,135 | 37.8% |
| 29 | Rancho Santa Margarita | 46,990 | $152,560 | $1,029,346 | 34.6% |
| 30 | Thousand Oaks | 125,205 | $135,603 | $1,049,634 | 28.3% |
| 31 | Belmont | 27,337 | $205,297 | $2,332,686 | 35.6% |
| 32 | Laguna Beach | 22,710 | $143,843 | $2,949,835 | 17.8% |
| 33 | Santa Clarita | 230,221 | $123,062 | $802,016 | 37.4% |
| 34 | Menlo Park | 32,727 | $210,025 | $2,865,159 | 31.2% |
| 35 | Torrance | 142,130 | $116,217 | $1,124,932 | 29.2% |
| 36 | Palos Verdes Estates | 12,925 | $242,014 | $2,763,820 | 29.9% |
| 37 | Redlands | 73,375 | $105,041 | $636,035 | 31.9% |
| 38 | Eastvale | 70,633 | $160,069 | $949,255 | 55.0% |
| 39 | Poway | 48,713 | $148,359 | $1,230,064 | 35.9% |
| 40 | Newport Beach | 83,845 | $156,867 | $3,625,146 | 20.6% |
| 41 | Carlsbad | 114,373 | $142,748 | $1,370,649 | 30.3% |
| 42 | Beaumont | 56,266 | $107,118 | $537,095 | 43.6% |
| 43 | Coronado | 19,015 | $134,534 | $2,508,031 | 25.6% |
| 44 | Orange | 138,266 | $117,113 | $1,143,788 | 31.6% |
| 45 | Simi Valley | 125,634 | $122,081 | $844,909 | 30.6% |
| 46 | Glendora | 50,926 | $113,569 | $893,350 | 35.9% |
| 47 | Sunnyvale | 154,236 | $186,170 | $2,168,909 | 29.0% |
| 48 | Rocklin | 73,327 | $124,168 | $692,668 | 38.7% |
| 49 | Clayton | 10,937 | $175,707 | $1,057,924 | 35.4% |
| 50 | Benicia | 26,749 | $121,204 | $781,134 | 27.6% |
| 51 | Santee | 59,332 | $113,394 | $803,482 | 33.6% |
| 52 | Fullerton | 140,968 | $104,286 | $1,050,945 | 32.2% |
| 53 | Dublin | 70,803 | $214,385 | $1,305,295 | 45.4% |
| 54 | Alameda | 77,238 | $137,697 | $1,155,484 | 32.9% |
| 55 | Lincoln | 52,956 | $111,990 | $639,029 | 32.3% |
| 56 | Irvine | 311,690 | $136,719 | $1,557,982 | 33.6% |
| 57 | Burlingame | 30,525 | $174,000 | $2,761,630 | 31.8% |
| 58 | San Marcos | 94,882 | $109,377 | $955,362 | 40.1% |
| 59 | Walnut | 27,611 | $129,449 | $1,197,951 | 31.2% |
| 60 | Livermore | 85,522 | $160,775 | $1,122,823 | 34.6% |
| 61 | Elk Grove | 179,155 | $125,924 | $637,450 | 43.1% |
| 62 | Laguna Niguel | 64,139 | $140,452 | $1,499,546 | 26.6% |
| 63 | Woodland | 61,854 | $90,180 | $555,610 | 36.0% |
| 64 | Corona | 159,670 | $109,242 | $764,386 | 38.4% |
| 65 | Chula Vista | 276,375 | $108,032 | $846,372 | 41.8% |
| 66 | Murrieta | 112,064 | $114,081 | $688,358 | 40.5% |
| 67 | Cypress | 49,498 | $130,215 | $1,085,691 | 36.5% |
| 68 | Piedmont | 10,945 | $250,001 | $2,459,056 | 47.6% |
| 69 | Ripon | 16,201 | $133,380 | $682,800 | 35.5% |
| 70 | Placentia | 52,826 | $115,929 | $1,117,228 | 35.4% |
| 71 | Roseville | 155,955 | $119,288 | $644,324 | 33.2% |
| 72 | Ontario | 180,547 | $88,941 | $672,742 | 41.8% |
| 73 | Buena Park | 82,871 | $110,550 | $940,507 | 39.0% |
| 74 | Azusa | 49,031 | $90,721 | $715,154 | 34.0% |
| 75 | Agoura Hills | 19,721 | $171,302 | $1,259,726 | 34.5% |
| 76 | Berkeley | 120,257 | $108,092 | $1,443,684 | 18.9% |
| 77 | Chino Hills | 77,927 | $126,334 | $996,262 | 35.4% |
| 78 | La Mirada | 47,180 | $109,288 | $887,479 | 30.1% |
| 79 | Santa Paula | 31,376 | $79,294 | $717,279 | 39.0% |
| 80 | Covina | 49,888 | $98,671 | $804,341 | 32.8% |
| 81 | Lake Forest | 86,281 | $135,175 | $1,208,686 | 33.3% |
| 82 | Rancho Cucamonga | 175,411 | $111,895 | $792,765 | 33.8% |
| 83 | Napa | 78,239 | $105,963 | $879,853 | 28.2% |
| 84 | Morgan Hill | 45,425 | $163,920 | $1,356,869 | 38.9% |
| 85 | Campbell | 42,781 | $145,268 | $1,977,422 | 29.5% |
| 86 | Redondo Beach | 69,291 | $150,245 | $1,500,192 | 29.6% |
| 87 | Albany | 19,414 | $144,107 | $1,261,177 | 33.4% |
| 88 | San Bruno | 42,307 | $141,272 | $1,327,402 | 26.5% |
| 89 | Pasadena | 136,969 | $105,192 | $1,209,228 | 22.2% |
| 90 | Monterey | 29,613 | $102,846 | $1,168,149 | 20.3% |
| 91 | South San Francisco | 64,305 | $136,578 | $1,242,214 | 28.8% |
| 92 | Solana Beach | 12,823 | $152,167 | $2,183,118 | 20.6% |
| 93 | South Pasadena | 26,068 | $127,175 | $1,692,678 | 33.6% |
| 94 | Hollister | 43,811 | $111,834 | $764,270 | 48.4% |
| 95 | El Segundo | 16,769 | $150,737 | $1,759,408 | 28.0% |
| 96 | Manhattan Beach | 34,210 | $204,306 | $3,227,202 | 31.5% |
| 97 | Hayward | 158,801 | $113,318 | $848,427 | 34.6% |
| 98 | Norco | 25,054 | $127,566 | $918,950 | 36.2% |
| 99 | Laguna Hills | 30,740 | $128,851 | $1,243,180 | 32.2% |
| 100 | Upland | 79,257 | $105,830 | $825,789 | 33.8% |
Source: U.S. Census data via Saturday Night Science. 347 California cities with more than 10,000 residents.
Summary
Summary: The Best Places To Raise A Family In California
If you’re looking for a breakdown of cities in California ranked by criteria that most agree make a place a great spot for families, this is an accurate list.
The best places for families in California are Moorpark, Pleasanton, San Marino, Moraga, Saratoga, Los Gatos, Camarillo, Palo Alto, Mission Viejo, and Mill Valley.
