Best Neighborhoods in Daly City, California

Daly City's neighborhoods share a hillside setting but differ in feel. Westlake is as close as the city gets to a downtown, with the Westlake Shopping Center, mid-century modern architecture and the Westlake Park Community Center. Southern Hills sits high on San Bruno Mountain, with the most sunshine in the city and views north over San Francisco. St. Francis Heights is mostly residential, between San Bruno Mountain State and County Park and Westlake.

St. Francis Heights has a median home price around $1M, with easy commuting via 101 or 280, and our guide notes that finding cheaper means crossing to the East Bay. Southern Hills mixes single-family homes with townhomes, condos and apartments, a useful range if you're renting or buying smaller. Younger professionals and retirees are joining the families in St. Francis Heights.

Westlake

Families/DINKs

If there is a downtown of any kind in Daly City then it’s probably the Westlake neighborhood. The Westlake Shopping Center is here and it draws locals due to its combination of big-box stores, some smaller chain restaurants, and a slew of cool boutique shops and restaurants, including Joe’s of Westlake, that acts as a city center of sorts. The neighborhood is famous for its mid-century modern architecture that draws both families and hipster-ish types that crave the retro-futuristic designs of the post-WWII homes.

The families here also get to enjoy the Westlake Park Community Center, a great facility for events, playgrounds, sports fields, and general kiddo and doggo play. Overall, it’s a great choice for young families looking to move into a tight-knit community that appreciates the direct access to services in the neighborhood and easy access to the ocean and San Francisco.

Southern Hills

Young Families/DINKs

Southern Hills
One of the most interesting neighborhoods in Daly City is Southern Hills. It has the most sunshine throughout the year and it has some of the best views in the entire bay area. It sits high up on the San Bruno Mountain (which holds a major state park with miles of wildlife and scenic trails that overlook many parts of the bay area). Facing North the neighborhood overlooks pretty much all of San Francisco. Living in Southern Hills means you see the city but live on the edge of the mountain-side nature. Many think of it as offering the best of both worlds as you feel a bit more like you live in San Francisco here but you get the reprieve from city-chaos by being up on the hills.

The housing includes single family homes but also plenty of townhomes, condos and apartments. Some couples and singles live here for convenient and more affordable access to the 101 and the tech/biotech businesses in South San Francisco. Many young families also flock to the townhomes and condos here as starter options for first purchases while the kiddos are still little.

St. Francis Heights

Families/Young Professionals/Retirees

St. Francis Heights is on the southern side of the city, nestled between San Bruno Mountain State and County Park to the east and the Westlake neighborhood to the west. It’s primarily residential, with mostly families but also a growing number of younger professionals, and retirees.

Much of the housing is single-family homes, some in the mid-century style of its more famous Westlake neighbor, and the rest in ranch and bungalow styles. There are also lots of townhomes and newer apartment buildings for those looking to rent and take advantage of the easy commuting via 101 or 280. Median home prices are around $1m, which is of course crazy expensive but to find cheaper you’ll need to cross over to the East Bay.