Oakland has seen a huge influx of people over the last 10 years even as California has started to see an outflow. We don’t know if this increase is because it’s one of the top 100 cities in America for singles or because people are crossing the Bay Bridge to flee San Francisco’s high cost of living, but what we do know is that Oakland has some pretty cool neighborhoods. And if you want to know where those neighborhoods are located, you should take a look below at HomeSnacks’ list of the top ten best neighborhoods in Oaktown for 2026.
It’s not that Oakland doesn’t have its fair share of problems–most cities with 423,640 residents generally do, but Oakland is working hard to find solutions that are best for everyone. Oakland is afterall one of the most diverse cities in California. However, where Oakland used to be in the headlines for high crime, the city is now being used in conversations that include words like progress and renewal. And, people, this sense of rebirth is starting in Oakland’s best neighborhoods. For example, if you’re looking for a quirky bohemian enclave, the Fairview Park neighborhood has eclectic coffee shops and a bunch of craft breweries. The Panoramic Hill neighborhood has everything Oakland, but it comes with a pretty expensive price tag. But, if you want the best deal, Piedmont is the most affordable in terms of median income level to home price ratio.
And because HomeSnacks doesn’t want you to live a life with regret, we think that you should definitely make one of Oakland’s best neighborhoods your first Northern California choice. To do this, you’re going to need to keep reading to see your top ten choices.
$132,915 median income · $1,188,067 median home value
$204,144 median income · $1,604,023 median home value
Located in
Alameda County, California
Piedmont is a small, mostly-residential, semi-suburban city located in Alameda County, California, United States. Piedmont is completely surrounded by the city of Oakland. Its residential population was 10,667 at the 2010 census. The name comes after the region of Piedmont in Italy, and literally means foothill. Piedmont was incorporated in 1907, and was developed significantly in the 1920s and 1930s. The Piedmont Unified School District includes three elementary schools, one middle school, and two high schools.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$214,386 median income · $1,341,575 median home value
Located in
Alameda County, California
Montclair is a city in the Pomona Valley, in southwestern San Bernardino County, California. The population was 36,664 in the 2010 United States Census.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$198,252 median income · $1,095,433 median home value
$189,943 median income · $1,027,200 median home value
$214,500 median income · $1,633,100 median home value
$99,605 median income · $870,700 median home value
$236,635 median income · $1,167,950 median home value
$169,975 median income · $1,037,650 median home value
$192,072 median income · $1,403,250 median home value
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
Saturday Night Science
Methodology: How we determined the best Oakland, CA neighborhoods in 2026
To rank the best neighborhoods in Oakland, we had to determine what criteria define “best” and then apply Saturday Night Science to it.
Using FBI crime, Census, and extrapolated BLS data, we arrived at the following set of criteria:
- High incomes
- Low unemployment rates
- Low crime
- High home prices
- High population densities (A proxy for things to do)
We then ranked each neighborhood with scores from 1 to 129 in each category, where 1 was the best.
Next, we averaged the rankings for each neighborhood to create a best neighborhood index.
And finally, we crowned the neighborhood with the lowest best neighborhood index, the “Best City Neighborhood In Oakland.” We’re lookin’ at you, Fairview Park.
Read on below to learn more about what it’s like to live in the best places Oakland, California has to offer. Or skip to the end to see the list of all the neighborhoods in the city, from best to worst.
We updated this article for 2026. This report is our eleventh time ranking the best neighborhoods to live in Oakland.
The full plate
Table: Best Oakland neighborhoods for 2026
Click any column to sort. Search by neighborhood name.
| Rank | Neighborhood | Population | Home Value | Median Income |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fairview Park | 3,992 | $1,188,067 | $132,915 |
| 2 | Piedmont | 10,992 | $1,604,023 | $204,144 |
| 3 | Montclair | 4,335 | $1,341,575 | $214,386 |
| 4 | Merriwood | 3,894 | $1,095,433 | $198,252 |
| 5 | Forestland | 1,712 | $1,027,200 | $189,943 |
| 6 | Panoramic Hill | 1,210 | $1,633,100 | $214,500 |
| 7 | Cleveland Heights | 8,157 | $870,700 | $99,605 |
| 8 | Hiller Highlands | 731 | $1,167,950 | $236,635 |
| 9 | Lakeshore | 4,717 | $1,037,650 | $169,975 |
| 10 | Rockridge | 3,431 | $1,403,250 | $192,072 |
| 11 | Redwood Heights | 9,316 | $779,743 | $117,292 |
| 12 | Claremont | 1,468 | $1,082,700 | $195,162 |
| 13 | Upper Dimond | 6,177 | $842,340 | $116,945 |
| 14 | Lincoln Highlands | 1,881 | $912,600 | $126,466 |
| 15 | Oak Tree | 5,164 | $953,033 | $46,722 |
| 16 | Grand Lake | 5,165 | $632,433 | $103,276 |
| 17 | Upper Rockridge | 6,366 | $1,277,233 | $197,631 |
| 18 | Trestle Glen | 3,628 | $1,044,300 | $194,731 |
| 19 | Montclair Business | 178 | $1,089,800 | $198,750 |
| 20 | Shepherd Canyon | 1,786 | $1,058,967 | $176,316 |
| 21 | Glen Highlands | 1,287 | $1,079,750 | $177,448 |
| 22 | Piedmont Avenue | 7,021 | $736,086 | $89,932 |
| 23 | Glenview | 5,707 | $966,357 | $129,882 |
| 24 | Lake Merritt | 879 | $768,150 | $115,330 |
| 25 | Oakmore | 2,389 | $996,267 | $165,721 |
| 26 | Woodminster | 1,620 | $962,100 | $187,347 |
| 27 | Golden Gate | 2,316 | $735,450 | $97,038 |
| 28 | Piedmont Pines | 3,198 | $1,059,900 | $183,535 |
| 29 | Fairfax | 2,414 | $560,000 | $84,670 |
| 30 | Shafter | 3,523 | $1,107,233 | $90,537 |
| 31 | Gaskill | 2,243 | $819,333 | $95,553 |
| 32 | Allendale | 4,519 | $575,025 | $66,695 |
| 33 | Adams Point | 8,906 | $590,520 | $90,098 |
| 34 | Bushrod | 7,517 | $929,492 | $104,139 |
| 35 | Paradise Park | 2,301 | $763,350 | $85,442 |
| 36 | Santa Fe | 3,949 | $784,650 | $90,486 |
| 37 | Mountain View Cemetery | 975 | $995,900 | $146,319 |
| 38 | Jefferson | 4,142 | $528,650 | $67,829 |
| 39 | Longfellow | 6,510 | $769,657 | $93,785 |
| 40 | Maxwell Park | 5,657 | $661,360 | $97,675 |
| 41 | Chabot Park | 4,616 | $698,000 | $111,840 |
| 42 | Crestmont | 1,079 | $962,100 | $187,347 |
| 43 | Joaquin Miller Park | 862 | $1,059,900 | $175,972 |
| 44 | Bella Vista | 1,407 | $675,000 | $93,352 |
| 45 | Lakewide | 4,439 | $830,400 | $56,869 |
| 46 | Ivy Hill | 3,355 | $677,200 | $77,695 |
| 47 | Temescal | 4,437 | $946,083 | $84,384 |
| 48 | Clinton | 7,705 | $579,371 | $63,619 |
| 49 | Mills College | 1,203 | $678,900 | $86,563 |
| 50 | Sobrante Park | 3,735 | $509,900 | $62,560 |
| 51 | Las Palmas | 3,120 | $473,700 | $78,751 |
| 52 | San Pablo Gateway | 4,019 | $714,300 | $81,891 |
| 53 | Waverly | 1,014 | $544,500 | $87,012 |
| 54 | Millsmont | 5,861 | $625,800 | $72,298 |
| 55 | Skyline-Hillcrest Estates | 921 | $667,400 | $123,204 |
| 56 | South Prescott | 285 | $625,000 | $163,932 |
| 57 | Northgate | 1,790 | $875,000 | $73,556 |
| 58 | Oakland Ave-Harrison St | 5,921 | $600,450 | $72,751 |
| 59 | Harrington | 4,200 | $504,200 | $53,220 |
| 60 | Merritt | 4,429 | $588,600 | $65,628 |
| 61 | Pill Hill | 1,976 | $818,600 | $78,700 |
| 62 | Sausal Creek | 2,135 | $585,825 | $72,278 |
| 63 | Downtown | 3,128 | $737,667 | $83,100 |
| 64 | Sequoyah | 4,128 | $561,700 | $120,190 |
| 65 | Prescott | 5,285 | $649,367 | $94,056 |
| 66 | School | 2,080 | $553,233 | $67,199 |
| 67 | Golf Links | 1,482 | $447,750 | $93,839 |
| 68 | Caballo Hills | 3,096 | $474,800 | $129,463 |
| 69 | Upper Laurel | 5,205 | $536,125 | $72,640 |
| 70 | Hoover-Foster | 4,859 | $733,500 | $71,651 |
| 71 | Patten | 2,619 | $584,400 | $55,978 |
| 72 | Fremont | 5,075 | $502,825 | $86,075 |
| 73 | Durant Manor | 2,578 | $582,800 | $84,924 |
| 74 | Civic Center | 832 | $650,900 | $57,863 |
| 75 | Mosswood | 2,462 | $973,300 | $88,010 |
| 76 | Arrowhead Marsh | 1,372 | $611,633 | $96,834 |
| 77 | South Kennedy Tract | 1,623 | $701,700 | $103,944 |
| 78 | Tuxedo | 2,439 | $550,067 | $59,889 |
| 79 | Foothill Square | 1,295 | $566,500 | $64,250 |
| 80 | Bartlett | 2,051 | $467,760 | $56,034 |
| 81 | Dimond | 1,582 | $608,150 | $63,822 |
| 82 | Eastmont Hills | 2,724 | $635,350 | $110,692 |
| 83 | Ralph Bunche | 2,276 | $704,425 | $56,986 |
| 84 | Highland Terrace | 3,951 | $495,840 | $49,488 |
| 85 | Upper Peralta Creek-Bartlett | 3,256 | $371,600 | $48,575 |
| 86 | Brookfield Village | 3,656 | $422,367 | $64,445 |
| 87 | Toler Heights | 2,316 | $564,133 | $73,715 |
| 88 | Rancho San Antonio | 6,055 | $533,120 | $49,626 |
| 89 | North Stonehurst | 4,105 | $433,600 | $54,529 |
| 90 | Oak Center | 3,677 | $758,400 | $50,624 |
| 91 | Arroyo Viejo | 5,874 | $418,150 | $61,366 |
| 92 | Sheffield Village | 214 | $786,900 | $129,130 |
| 93 | Iveywood | 3,875 | $422,333 | $54,228 |
| 94 | Hawthorne | 2,449 | $628,050 | $42,796 |
| 95 | Cox | 3,401 | $429,957 | $48,720 |
| 96 | Fairfax Business-Wentworth-Holland | 2,338 | $293,750 | $44,870 |
| 97 | Seminary | 4,623 | $464,125 | $48,993 |
| 98 | Clawson | 2,185 | $592,750 | $86,830 |
| 99 | South Stonehurst | 930 | $456,800 | $71,490 |
| 100 | McClymonds | 2,991 | $599,300 | $62,382 |
Source: U.S. Census ACS 2020-2024. All 129 Oakland neighborhoods.
Summary
Summary: Putting a bow on our analysis of the best neighborhoods in Oakland
If you’re measuring the neighborhoods in Oakland where crime is low and everyone wants to live, this is an accurate list.
The best neighborhoods in Oakland are Fairview Park, Piedmont, Montclair, Merriwood, Forestland, Panoramic Hill, Cleveland Heights, Hiller Highlands, Lakeshore, and Rockridge.
As mentioned earlier, the neighborhoods in Oakland aren’t all good. Columbia Gardens takes the title of the worst neighborhood to live in Oakland.
We ranked the neighborhoods from best to worst in the chart below. Not sold on California? Take the two-minute Find Your Place quiz and see which state actually fits you.
Questions and answers
Best Neighborhoods In Oakland FAQs
What is the best neighborhood in Oakland?
Fairview Park is the best neighborhood in Oakland for 2026, according to Saturday Night Science. Piedmont and Montclair are next.
What are the best neighborhoods in Oakland?
The best neighborhoods in Oakland are Fairview Park, Piedmont, Montclair, Merriwood, Forestland, Panoramic Hill, Cleveland Heights, Hiller Highlands, Lakeshore, and Rockridge. We ranked all 129 neighborhoods in the city.
How expensive is Fairview Park?
The median household income in Fairview Park is $132,915 and the median home costs $1,188,067. The best blocks in Oakland rarely come at a discount.
How do you rank Oakland neighborhoods?
Each neighborhood is scored on income, home values, population density, unemployment, and crime, using Census tract data. The neighborhood with the best combined score, Fairview Park, takes the top spot.
Which Oakland neighborhood ranked last?
Columbia Gardens came in last of the 129 neighborhoods we scored. Every city has a bottom of the table; in Oakland the numbers put it there.
