The 10 Best Neighborhoods In San Diego For 2021

What do 1.5 million San Diegan residents know that the rest of the country does not? Well, for one, this city has some of the best neighborhoods to establish some Southern California roots. And, trusty HomeSnacks readers, today is your lucky day because we've created a list of the best neighborhoods in San Diego for 2021.

But, before you head down to our coveted list of the best neighborhoods in San Diego, you need to know how we calculated our list. First, we looked at the latest FBI data, Census report, and BLS for San Diego's 85 neighborhoods. We then created our own index based on factors that most people find important when looking for their forever neighborhood: low crime, affordable housing, educated neighbors, convenience, and amenities.

Our super scientific formula led us to a bunch of fun San Diego neighborhood facts. For one, if you want to live in most of San Diego's best neighborhoods, you're going to have to make at least $69,683/year. And while this is a pretty sizable requirement, it does usually mean that your neighbors are educated and that they value safety and cleanliness. If top notch schools for your kiddos is a requirement, San Diego's neighborhood, Torrey Pines has that market cornered. And if you're looking to get the most bang for your buck with average home prices around $500,000 than you should definitely give Carmel Mountain a second glance.

However, if you want to see our list of the best neighborhoods in San Diego, you're going to have to keep reading.

We were not at all surprised to find that San Diego is one of the better cities in America. The 85 neighborhoods that make up America's Finest City could be the poster neighborhoods for the rest of the country. In layman's terms, if you want that beach life with five star restaurants and posh shopping, La Jolla should be at the top of your list. And if you're looking for a neighborhood close to an airport, Wooded Area is it.

So, what's the best neighborhood in San Diego? Well, according to the latest data and our SnackAbility index, that would be Del Mar Heights.

If you want to see a list of the rest of the latest and greatest neighborhoods in San Diego, take a look below. And if you don't find what you're looking for there, head on down to the bottom of the page.

For more California reading, check out:

• Best Places To Live In California
• Cheapest Places To Live In California
• Most Dangerous Cities In California

How We Determined The Best San Diego, CA Neighborhoods In 2021

In order to rank the best neighborhoods in San Diego, we had to determine what criteria defines a "best".

Using 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 85 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 San Diego." We're lookin' at you, Del Mar Heights.

Read on below to learn more about what it's like to live in the best places San Diego, California has to offer. Or skip to the end to see the list of all the neighborhoods in the city from best to worst.

Putting A Bow On Our Analysis Of The Best Neighborhoods In San Diego

If you're measuring the neighborhoods in San Diego where crime is low and everyone wants to live, this is an accurate list.

As we mentioned earlier, the neighborhoods in San Diego aren't all good. San Ysidro takes the title of the worst neighborhood to live in San Diego.

We ranked the neighborhoods from best to worst in the chart below.

For more California reading, check out:

• Richest Cities In California
• Safest Places In California
• Worst Places To Live In California

Detailed List Of The Best Neighborhoods To Live In San Diego For 2021