What is the Best Neighborhoods USA ranking for Islands?
Islands is ranked #3 of 10 eligible neighborhoods in Foster City; #306 of 1,814 eligible neighborhoods in CA; and #3,294 of 14,967 eligible neighborhoods in the United States.
Neighborhood Profile
Islands
Foster City, CA | San Mateo County
Scored premium profile
Best Neighborhoods USA Index
62.3
Stability and Strength
73.0
Value Opportunity
50.2
Momentum
62.2
Score note: Rankings show denominators so users always see the size of the eligible cohort.
| Context | Value |
|---|---|
| Location | Foster City, CA |
| County | San Mateo County |
| National rank | #3,294 of 14,967 |
| State rank | #306 of 1,814 |
| City rank | #3 of 10 |
| County rank | #27 of 82 |
| National percentile | 78.0 |
| National band | TOP_25_PERCENT |
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Housing and local fundamentals
| Housing and market metrics | Value |
|---|---|
| Current Zillow home value | $2,686,122 |
| Year-over-year home value change | 1.4% |
| Month-over-month home value change | 0.28% |
| Home value to income ratio | 16.83 |
| Median household income | $159,569 |
| Bachelor's degree or higher | 77.9% |
| Civilian unemployment rate | 5.4% |
| Homeownership rate | 78.5% |
| Housing vacancy rate | 1.9% |
| Rent burden 30% or higher | 62.8% |
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 Islands
Is Islands one of the best neighborhoods in Foster City?
Islands has a Best Neighborhoods USA Index of 62.3 and a city ranking of #3 of 10 eligible neighborhoods in Foster City.
How much are homes worth in Islands?
The current Zillow Home Value Index for Islands is approximately $2,686,122.
Are home values rising or falling in Islands?
Zillow neighborhood values changed 1.4% year over year and 0.28% month over month.
What is the Neighborhood Momentum Score for Islands?
Islands has a Neighborhood Momentum Score of 62.2. Momentum is 70% year-over-year and 30% month-over-month Zillow housing change.
What is the median household income in Islands?
The NDS-derived neighborhood median household income is approximately $159,569.
How affordable is Islands relative to household income?
The current Zillow home-value-to-household-income ratio is 16.83. Price-to-income affordability is a major Value Opportunity input.
Is Islands primarily homeowners or renters?
The NDS-derived homeownership rate is approximately 78.5%.
What is the unemployment rate in Islands?
The NDS-derived civilian unemployment rate is approximately 5.4%.
How educated are residents of Islands?
Approximately 77.9% of residents age 25 and older are estimated to have a bachelor's degree or higher.
What share of renters in Islands face high rent burden?
Approximately 62.8% 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 Islands?
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 applications30
Estimated originations18
Home-purchase applications13
Origination rate59.6%
Home-purchase share43.3%
Average application loan$928,297
Total application loan amount$27,548,418
National application rank#9,273 of 14,874 rankable neighborhoods
Geometry coverage100.0%
Recent trend: Applications -5.1% YoY; originations -4.2% 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.