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35fit

Hayes Valley

Official analysis neighborhood: Hayes Valley

Published fit 35 uses default walkable weights and a $2,500 ACS rent budget — the same number as the San Francisco table. Your current weights score this 33.

Data period. ACS 2024 5-year (2020-2024) · SFPD Oct 2025 – Sep 2026 · OSM Sep 2026. ACS and SFPD retrieved 2026-09-01; OSM retrieved 2026-09-01. Editorial copy last revised Sep 2026.

The freeway came down; the boutiques stayed. A compact walk to the opera without living on the Tenderloin edge.

hayes streetpatricia's green

Best in San Francisco for familiesWalkable San FranciscoUnder $2,500 rent

Why this published score

Default walkable weights, $2,500 ACS rent budget. Same axes as the city table and the FAQ.

Safety
16

60 violent · 716 property · 41.1 per 1k (Oct 2025 – Sep 2026)-34 vs city set

Schools
40

Rating 7.0 / 10 nearby-13 vs city set

Walk
17

OSM: 24 groceries · 31 cafes · 83 transit · 40 parks-9 vs city set

Cost
95

$2,636 ACS median vs published $2,500 rent budget+6 vs city set

Vibe
21

OSM: 31 cafes · 98 restaurants · 29 bars · 40 parks-2 vs city set

Commute to work

From Hayes Valley, a typical weekday is 14 min to FiDi, 14 min to SoMa, 21 min to Mission Bay. Not live traffic.

FiDi is the fastest of these three job centers from here.

FiDi
14 min

Embarcadero offices · -10 min vs the city-set median · fastest of these three

SoMa
14 min

Tech lofts · -9 min vs the city-set median

Mission Bay
21 min

UCSF, new offices · -6 min vs the city-set median

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 $2,636 — every occupied rental mixed together, not the 1-bed in the window.

That is 24% of median household income — under the 30% HUD line. A household at this area’s median income ($131K) could “afford” about $3,268 a month at 30% of pay.

83% of households rent. Median home value is $1,156,018.

ACS median rent
$2,636
30% income budget
$3,268
Rent / income
24%
Median home
$1,156,018

Rent since 2014

ACS 5-year median gross rent for San Francisco city. Up 62% since 2014. Hayes Valley is 6% above the 2024 city median.

$1.5k$3.0kHayes Valley $2,636201420162018202020222024

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: 24 groceries, 31 cafes, 40 parks, and 83 transit stops.

Daily errands and coffee are realistic on foot. Parks are close — 40 mapped parks in that radius. Transit is dense (83 stops or stations).

31 cafes and 98 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 15 of the other 19 areas in this city.

Population
18,871
Median age
35
Median income
$131K
Renters
83%
Bachelor+
69%
Violent / 1k
3.2
Property / 1k
37.9

ACS 2024 5-year (2020-2024) · 5 census tracts · SFPD Oct 2025 – Sep 2026 · OSM 2026-09-01

NightlifePlanned

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.

The freeway came down; the boutiques stayed. Hayes Valley is the compact walk to the opera that Reddit locals still name as a favorite for being central without living on the Tenderloin edge. Patricia’s Green is the dog-and-coffee square.

Small, expensive, walkable to Civic Center, the Mission, and the Castro by design. Nightlife is wine bars more than clubs. Weight walk. The adjacent Market Street edge is the safety homework — tour it at 10 p.m., not just at brunch.

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, Philadelphia neighborhood writing, Portland neighborhood writing, Washington neighborhood-cluster 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.

1,356 reports

  • Street and Sidewalk Cleaning623
  • General226
  • Parking Enforcement219
  • Graffiti Public92
  • Encampment79
  • Residential Building
  • Parking Enforcement
  • Parking Enforcement
  • Street and Sidewalk Cleaning
  • General

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.

One r/sanfrancisco post in this snapshot names Hayes Valley.

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 Hayes Valley safe?

Hayes Valley shows more Part I than most of this San Francisco set (safety 16 vs city 50). SFPD logged 3.2 violent and 37.9 property incidents per 1,000 residents — 41.1 combined. Visitors count in those numbers. This is not a judgment of who lives here.

What is rent in Hayes Valley?

ACS median rent is $2,636 — studios through large apartments mixed together. About 83% of households rent. Median home value is $1,156,018. Survey medians, not a listing you can message tonight.

Is Hayes Valley walkable?

Walk is 17 here vs 26 for the San Francisco set — you will likely drive or ride for a weekly shop. Inside 800 meters: 24 groceries, 31 cafes, 83 transit stops, 40 parks. Not a Walk Score license.

Is Hayes Valley good for families?

There is more night and visitor traffic in the mix — not the quietest family default. Nearby school rating is 7.0 / 10. Median age is 35. That rating is not your assigned campus.

How long is the commute from Hayes Valley?

14 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 Hayes Valley?

About 18,871 people. Median income $131K. 69% have a bachelor's or higher.

What neighborhoods are next to Hayes Valley?

FiDi / South Beach, South of Market, Nob Hill sit closest on this map. If you are choosing between two official analysis neighborhoods, start with Hayes Valley vs FiDi / South Beach.

Next door

Closest on this schematic map, scored with the same published walkable weights as the San Francisco table. Distances here are not street geography.

Hayes Valley vs FiDi / South BeachHayes Valley vs South of MarketHayes Valley vs Nob Hill

73fit

FiDi / South Beach

$3K ACS median rent

Towers, the Embarcadero, and a ballpark on the south edge. Official name is Financial District/South Beach — search FiDi.

Walk index
100
Safety index
5
Published fit
73
NightlifePlannedWaterfront

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64fit

Nob Hill

$2K ACS median rent

Cable cars, hotel bars, and a ridge between Chinatown and Pac Heights. Dense without SoMa's warehouse scale.

Walk index
73
Safety index
37
Published fit
64
Nightlife

Explore neighborhood

39fit

Haight-Ashbury

$3K ACS median rent

The Haight is the brand; the Panhandle is the commute. Still walkable, still loud on weekends, still next to the park.

Walk index
13
Safety index
74
Published fit
39
Nightlife

Explore neighborhood

37fit

Western Addition

$2K ACS median rent

Alamo Square, the Fillmore, and Japantown sit inside this analysis neighborhood. Painted ladies are the postcard; the grid is the product.

Walk index
15
Safety index
32
Published fit
37

Explore neighborhood

33fit

South of Market

$2K ACS median rent

Tech lofts, clubs, and a crime rate that downtown visitor traffic inflates. Walk scores max; evening quiet depends on the block.

Walk index
24
Safety index
0
Published fit
33
NightlifePlanned

Explore neighborhood

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