What is the Best Neighborhoods USA ranking for Carmel Valley?
Carmel Valley is ranked #12 of 111 eligible neighborhoods in San Diego; #377 of 1,814 eligible neighborhoods in CA; and #3,799 of 14,967 eligible neighborhoods in the United States.
Neighborhood Profile
Carmel Valley
San Diego, CA | San Diego County
Scored premium profile
Best Neighborhoods USA Index
60.7
Stability and Strength
71.8
Value Opportunity
49.4
Momentum
58.5
Score note: Rankings show denominators so users always see the size of the eligible cohort.
| Context | Value |
|---|---|
| Location | San Diego, CA |
| County | San Diego County |
| National rank | #3,799 of 14,967 |
| State rank | #377 of 1,814 |
| City rank | #12 of 111 |
| County rank | #23 of 170 |
| National percentile | 74.6 |
| National band | MIDDLE_50_PERCENT |
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Housing and local fundamentals
| Housing and market metrics | Value |
|---|---|
| Current Zillow home value | $2,257,404 |
| Year-over-year home value change | 1.3% |
| Month-over-month home value change | 0.15% |
| Home value to income ratio | 17.24 |
| Median household income | $130,977 |
| Bachelor's degree or higher | 81.4% |
| Civilian unemployment rate | 3.3% |
| Homeownership rate | 58.7% |
| Housing vacancy rate | 6.2% |
| Rent burden 30% or higher | 50.5% |
How to read this profile
- Ranks are always shown with denominators.
- Momentum reflects both year-over-year and month-over-month housing change.
- Stability and Strength and Value Opportunity are governed composite scores.
- Identity composition is descriptive intelligence and is not a scoring component.
Questions and Answers
Questions About Living in Carmel Valley
Is Carmel Valley one of the best neighborhoods in San Diego?
Carmel Valley has a Best Neighborhoods USA Index of 60.7 and a city ranking of #12 of 111 eligible neighborhoods in San Diego.
How much are homes worth in Carmel Valley?
The current Zillow Home Value Index for Carmel Valley is approximately $2,257,404.
Are home values rising or falling in Carmel Valley?
Zillow neighborhood values changed 1.3% year over year and 0.15% month over month.
What is the Neighborhood Momentum Score for Carmel Valley?
Carmel Valley has a Neighborhood Momentum Score of 58.5. Momentum is 70% year-over-year and 30% month-over-month Zillow housing change.
What is the median household income in Carmel Valley?
The NDS-derived neighborhood median household income is approximately $130,977.
How affordable is Carmel Valley relative to household income?
The current Zillow home-value-to-household-income ratio is 17.24. Price-to-income affordability is a major Value Opportunity input.
Is Carmel Valley primarily homeowners or renters?
The NDS-derived homeownership rate is approximately 58.7%.
What is the unemployment rate in Carmel Valley?
The NDS-derived civilian unemployment rate is approximately 3.3%.
How educated are residents of Carmel Valley?
Approximately 81.4% of residents age 25 and older are estimated to have a bachelor's degree or higher.
What share of renters in Carmel Valley face high rent burden?
Approximately 50.5% of the applicable renter-household universe is estimated to spend 30% or more of household income on gross rent.
How does Best Neighborhoods USA score Carmel Valley?
The overall index combines 40% Stability and Strength, 35% Value Opportunity, and 25% Momentum. Race, ethnicity, and identity composition are not scoring components.
Governed ranking context
How this neighborhood ranks
HMDA Mortgage Intelligence
Neighborhood Mortgage Market
Modeled neighborhood-level mortgage activity allocated from governed HMDA tract data using Zillow neighborhood geometry. These neighborhood values are nonadditive and do not enter the Best Neighborhoods USA Index.
Activity year2024
Estimated applications949
Estimated originations541
Home-purchase applications474
Origination rate57.0%
Home-purchase share49.9%
Average application loan$865,348
Total application loan amount$821,379,937
National application rank#195 of 14,874 rankable neighborhoods
Geometry coverage100.0%
Recent trend: Applications 22.0% YoY; originations 20.2% YoY
Mortgage methodology
HMDA is natively reported at tract and other lender-reporting geographies, not Zillow neighborhood or ZIP geography. This module uses the certified NDS HMDA-to-Zillow tract-vintage crosswalk and area-weighted allocation. Rankings require governed geometry coverage. Applicant demographics are excluded. Neighborhood values may overlap and must not be summed to reconstruct ZIP or national totals.