Living in San Carlos, CA
Suburb in California
San Carlos is a suburb in California, home to about 30,000 people, with 4.5 million living within 31 mi. Day to day, you can walk or take transit almost everywhere. Life moves at a very fast pace, and homes are mostly houses.
Is San Carlos a good place to live? Pros and cons
👍 Pros
- Strong healthcare: 18 top-rated (4–5★) hospitals within 31 mi
- Easy flying: SFO is 10 mi away
- Great outdoors: hills or mountains nearby
- Mild summers: highs around 80°F
👎 Cons
- Pricey housing: a typical 3-bedroom home is about $2.40M, and rent is $4,600 a month
Whether it's a good place for you depends on what you value. Take the quiz to see how San Carlos ranks against your own priorities.
Key facts
Living in San Carlos: common questions
What is the cost of living in San Carlos?
A typical 3-bedroom home is worth about $2.40M, and a 3-bedroom rents for about $4,600 a month including utilities. Overall living costs are above the US average (index 110, where the US is 100).
What are taxes like in San Carlos?
California collects about $3,279 in state income tax per resident, and homeowners here pay about 0.5% of their home's value in property tax each year.
Is San Carlos safe?
San Carlos isn't in the FBI's 2019 city crime table, so Best Life Fit Me counts its safety as average.
How are the schools in San Carlos?
Public schools in San Carlos test well above the US average in math and reading (2018–19 state tests, put on one national scale with NAEP), with about 21 students per teacher.
What is the weather like in San Carlos?
San Carlos has mild winters: winter days average around 60°F and summer days around 80°F.
Does San Carlos get natural disasters?
Natural disaster risk is high, mainly from earthquakes and flooding: 7 federally declared disasters have hit the county since 2000, and FEMA expects about 2.84 deaths or injuries per 100,000 residents a year.
What is the nearest major airport to San Carlos?
The nearest major airport is SFO, about 10 mi away.
How San Carlos scores
Each bar compares San Carlos with the other 1,990 places in Best Life Fit Me. A dot shows where it sits between two ends, such as major metro and small town; neither end is better. Coloured bars run from poor (red) to excellent (green).
Places like San Carlos
These places have the most similar overall profile across all 24 aspects.
The circle is each place's all-round score out of 100: the average of its 15 quality scores, from red (poor) to green (excellent).
Nearby
See all the best places to live in California.
Is San Carlos right for you?
Answer 27 quick questions and see how it ranks against your priorities.