Daly City, California

There’s a lot to like in Daly City. The homes are way less expensive than other cities nearby. It’s an easy commute into the city and people are chill and friendly. Perhaps though the best thing about the city is the rich Filipino culture that permeates Daly City. With 33,000 Filipino American residents, it has been called “the Pinoy Capital of the United States”. The result is a tight-knit community, great food, and a family-friendly vibe that makes it safe and a great place to raise a family.

Many locals say that global warming has made Daly City a bit less foggy but regardless you need to prepare yourself for the cold and fog that sits on top of the western side of San Francisco and south down through Daly City and Pacifica. Some grow to love the cooler air and some (particularly those who move from SoCal) flee the cold for warmer, sunnier climes. The most important thing is to be sure to tour the city and see the homes on a foggy day so you don’t get tricked into thinking things are mostly sunny here.

Daly City is a suburban, bedroom community. There are a couple of shopping areas but no real downtown so unless you get in your car you don’t have immediate access to a traditional city commercial district. The lifestyle here is built around the family. Kids go to school, soccer, baseball, and volleyball leagues. Going to SF for a bigger night out. Families hitting up parks, the beach (surfing is legit in this area), the zoo in SF that is close, and generally just enjoying the fact that when you live in Daly City you are on the edge of the Pacific Ocean and the border of one of the most culturally interesting cities in the world.

To see what locals get up to for fun in Daly City check out the calendar of events.

We highly recommend visiting Daly City and staying in the community in a VRBO rather than a hotel to get a feel for living among the locals. You can receive discounted fares on travel via our partnership with Expedia as well.

Daly City has an odd structure for schools. Some of the city is in the South San Francisco School District and some are in the Jefferson Union District. It grades out at an average B+ on niche.com which means several schools come in as A’s and are considered excellent options and some drop down to C’s. If you’re eyeballing the neighborhoods for better schools look to the West and South for the higher-performing schools. It seems the closer to the Pacific and Pacifica/San Bruno borders you get the higher the ratings but there are exceptions so just keep an eye out for the high-performers if that’s one of your criteria for choosing.