66fit
Mission
$2K median rent
Valencia corridor, Mission murals, and a density that never sleeps. The official analysis neighborhood is just Mission — search the street names.
NightlifeWalk 86Safety 11
San Francisco/Bernal Heights
38fit
Bernal Heights
Official analysis neighborhood: Bernal Heights
Data vintage. ACS 2024 5-year · SFPD Oct 2025 – Sep 2026 · OSM Sep 2026 · updated Sep 2026
A hill with a park on top and Cortland at the base. South of the Mission without Mission prices — relatively.
bernalcortland
Best in San Francisco for familiesWalkable San FranciscoUnder $2,500 rent
Why this score
Safety
79
85 violent · 419 property · 20.9 per 1k (Oct 2025 – Sep 2026)+29 vs city set
Schools
67
Rating 7.8 / 10 nearby+14 vs city set
Walk
6
OSM: 15 groceries · 12 cafes · 97 transit · 30 parks-20 vs city set
Cost
78
$2,833 ACS median vs your rent budget-2 vs city set
Vibe
7
OSM: 12 cafes · 59 restaurants · 19 bars · 30 parks-16 vs city set
Commute to work
From Bernal Heights, a typical weekday is 33 min to FiDi, 23 min to SoMa, 15 min to Mission Bay. Not live traffic.
Mission Bay is the fastest of these three job centers from here.
FiDi
33 min
Embarcadero offices · +9 min vs the city-set median
SoMa
23 min
Tech lofts · at the city-set median
Mission Bay
15 min
UCSF, new offices · -12 min vs the city-set median · fastest of these three
Minutes are baked from neighborhood geography to three job centers — not Google, not this hour’s traffic.
Cost of living
The ACS median rent is $2,833 — every occupied rental mixed together, not the 1-bed in the window.
That is 19% of median household income — under the 30% HUD line. A household at this area’s median income ($183K) could “afford” about $4,578 a month at 30% of pay.
38% of households rent. Median home value is $1,534,862.
ACS median rent
$2,833
30% income budget
$4,578
Rent / income
19%
Median home
$1,534,862
Rent since 2014
ACS 5-year median gross rent for San Francisco city. Up 62% since 2014. Bernal Heights is 14% above the 2024 city median.
Overlapping 5-year ACS windows (B25064), not asking rent. Census does not publish a rent series for each official neighborhood, so the line is the city place. The dashed mark is this area’s ACS 2024 median.
HUD treats 30% of income as the cost-burden line. We do not split ACS rent into 1-bed vs 2-bed. Method.
Within a walk
Within a short walk of this official analysis neighborhood: 15 groceries, 12 cafes, 30 parks, and 97 transit stops.
Daily errands and coffee are realistic on foot. Parks are close — 30 mapped parks in that radius. Transit is dense (97 stops or stations).
12 cafes and 59 restaurants make this one of the busier food pockets in the San Francisco set.
OpenStreetMap, 800 meters. Not a Walk Score license. More groceries than 9 of the other 19 areas in this city.
Population
24,099
Median age
42.3
Median income
$183K
Renters
38%
Bachelor+
63%
Violent / 1k
3.5
Property / 1k
17.4
ACS 2024 5-year (2020-2024) · 6 census tracts · SFPD Oct 2025 – Sep 2026 · OSM 2026-09-01
Family streets
Crime is SFPD Part I reports per 1,000 ACS residents — not a judgment of who lives here. Home and rent figures are ACS medians, not live MLS. Read the method.
On the ground
What it is like to live here, beyond the scores.
A hill with a park on top and Cortland at the base. South of the Mission without Mission prices — relatively. Guides group it with Noe for safety and sun. The summit park is why people accept the stairs.
Cortland is a complete small street: cafe, grocery, bar. Everything else is a climb or a bus. Weight safety and family. Nightlife is the Mission, on purpose. Fog is lighter than the Sunset; parking is not.
Compiled from Zillow neighborhood guides, 5280 Magazine, Chicago and San Francisco resident guides, Mpls With Love, Eastside LA reporting, Seattle Times coverage, Boston planning-neighborhood writing, and local writing, 2025–2026. Editorial — not part of the fit score.
Reported here lately
City 311 service requests in this official unit, last 14 days. This is what neighbors filed with the city — not a chat thread, and not part of the fit score.
1,010 reports
- Parking Enforcement487
- Street and Sidewalk Cleaning281
- Graffiti Public65
- General57
- Encampment39
- Noise
- Parking Enforcement
- Parking Enforcement
- Street and Sidewalk Cleaning
- Parking Enforcement
San Francisco 311, last 14 days, using DataSF analysis neighborhood. Method.
On Reddit
Public posts from r/sanfrancisco that mention this neighborhood. Not Nextdoor, not people on this block, and not part of the fit score.
In r/sanfrancisco lately: pets.
- Bernal Dog Stick Library
r/sanfrancisco · Aug 9 · 1888 upvotes · 33 comments
- Great Horned Owl in Bernal Heights
r/sanfrancisco · Aug 22 · 512 upvotes · 18 comments
- A new 49-seat movie theater is opening in San Francisco (The Portal Cinema at 3293 Mission St. in Bernal Heights)
r/sanfrancisco · Aug 20 · 121 upvotes · 14 comments
The line above is a reading of the titles, not a verdict. Up to 3 links, last 90 days, snapshot 2026-09-01. Method.
Common questions
Straight answers from the numbers on this page.
Is Bernal Heights safe?
Bernal Heights sits on the quieter side of this San Francisco map (safety 79 vs city 50). SFPD logged 3.5 violent and 17.4 property incidents per 1,000 residents — 20.9 combined. Visitors count in those numbers. This is not a judgment of who lives here.
What is rent in Bernal Heights?
ACS median rent is $2,833 — studios through large apartments mixed together. About 38% of households rent. Median home value is $1,534,862. Survey medians, not a listing you can message tonight.
Is Bernal Heights walkable?
Walk is 6 here vs 26 for the San Francisco set — you will likely drive or ride for a weekly shop. Inside 800 meters: 15 groceries, 12 cafes, 97 transit stops, 30 parks. Not a Walk Score license.
Is Bernal Heights good for families?
The scores lean family relative to this city set. Nearby school rating is 7.8 / 10. Median age is 42.3. That rating is not your assigned campus.
How long is the commute from Bernal Heights?
33 typical weekday minutes to FiDi. Not the app on your phone this hour. Other job centers are further down this page.
How many people live in Bernal Heights?
About 24,099 people. Median income $183K. 63% have a bachelor's or higher.
What neighborhoods are next to Bernal Heights?
Potrero Hill, Noe Valley, Mission Bay sit closest on this map. If you are choosing between two official analysis neighborhoods, start with Bernal Heights vs Potrero Hill.
Next door
Adjacent on the map, ranked with your weights.
Bernal Heights vs Potrero HillBernal Heights vs Noe ValleyBernal Heights vs Mission Bay
36fit
Noe Valley
$3K median rent
Strollers on 24th, sun on the south slope, and the lowest violent rate in this set. The family read of inner SF.
Family streetsWalk 5Safety 68
35fit
Castro
$3K median rent
The Castro is the search term; Castro/Upper Market is the official polygon. Hills, neon, and a Muni metro under Market.
NightlifeWalk 20Safety 21
31fit
Potrero Hill
$3K median rent
Sunny slope, Dogpatch on the eastern edge, and a view back at downtown. Quieter than the Mission; still inner.
Family streetsPlannedWalk 7Safety 58
28fit
Mission Bay
$3K median rent
UCSF, new towers, and a shoreline that did not exist a generation ago. Planned more than discovered.
PlannedWaterfrontWalk 0Safety 63