Best Places83255, ID Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 83255, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. This page is for people who live here or already know they want to. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
83255 ranks 15,077th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on state finances by a wide margin, and distance from a big city ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 83255
BestNeighborhood is the only ranking that scores 40 measures of daily life neighborhood by neighborhood and lets you re-weight every one of them yourself.
83255's strengths and weaknesses
Where 83255 ranks high
- State fiscal healthBetter than 98% of zip codes
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 97% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than 94% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$562 a month, better than 90% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than 82% of zip codes
Where 83255 ranks low
- Big-city accessBetter than only 3% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 6% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than only 10% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than only 10% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than only 12% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 83255
A household needs to earn about $69,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 83255 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $68,964; the gap is small, which keeps homes within reach of local pay.
Where the monthly payment goes
Assumes a 20% down payment, a 6.6% 30-year fixed rate, and a 28% share of income going to the payment. The rate is the 2026-07-23 30-year fixed average, series MORTGAGE30US from the St. Louis Fed, which publishes Freddie Mac's weekly survey. Against the median home value, property tax uses 83255's effective rate of 0.50%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices and rents, renting stays cheaper than buying across the first 10 years here, so the case for buying rests on staying much longer or on prices rising faster than assumed. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 83255
83255 runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 83255.
Who works in 83255, and how
Work in 83255 centers on agriculture & forestry and professional & technical. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 82%
- Work from home 13%
- Transit, walk, or bike 5%
Life in 83255
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 83255.
What the weather is like in 83255, month by month
83255 sees roughly 130 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 87 degrees. January highs sit near 27, with lows near 13. The comfortable stretch runs June through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 27° | 19° | 13° |
| April | 54° | 41° | 31° |
| July | 87° | 73° | 58° |
| October | 57° | 45° | 35° |
Flying in and out of 83255
The nearest airport, Friedman Memorial, is about 49 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Boise Air Trml/Gowen Field, about 142 miles away.
The best schools in and around 83255
Schools across 83255 average a B, better than 64% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Arco Elementary SchoolB+ · 53% proficient
- Mackay Elementary SchoolC · 35% proficient
Top high schools
- Butte County Middle/high SchoolB · 48% proficient
- Mackay Jr/sr High SchoolC+ · 35% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 83255 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
83255 measure by measure
Cards are ordered by how much each measure matters to you, so the ones you weighted highest come first. Expand to see every measure. Percentages compare 83255 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 83255
Is 83255 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 83255 ranks 15,077th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on state finances, cheap car insurance, and quiet, and lowest on distance from a big city and an overheated housing market. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 83255 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $276,157. The overall cost of living runs about 14% below the national average. Set against a $68,964 median income, cost of living beats 42% of zip codes.
Is 83255 safe?
Yes, 83255 is safer than 65% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $298 per resident a year.
Compare 83255 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 83255. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 83255 represents the same real quantity as a 60 anywhere else, and the ranking is a weighted average of those absolutes. The map colors come from a national scale calibrated against a population weighted random sample of 5,000 neighborhoods. That absolute scoring is what no other places-to-live ranking does: it puts a single neighborhood, a town, a metro, and a state on one scale, so the same 40 measures answer both which metro to move to and which street inside it to buy on. Read the full methodology.
83255 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 83255: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 83255: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 83255: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 83255: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
83255 detail on related sites:
- CrimeGrade: neighborhood crime rates behind the crime safety score.
- ISPreports.org: provider by provider internet availability and advertised speeds.
- CoverageWatch: the car insurance premiums behind the cheap car insurance score.
Federal and public data:
- U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey: income, home value, rent, vacancy, commute time and mode, educational attainment, home age, age structure, household type, industry, and race.
- NOAA Global Surface Summary of the Day: the daily station record behind the monthly temperatures and the pleasant-day count.
- FAA Passenger Boarding Data: airport size and annual passenger counts.
- Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey: the 30-year fixed rate used in the cost-to-buy estimate.
- FBI Crime Data Explorer: reported offenses behind the tangible crime cost estimate.
- U.S. EPA Air Quality System: five year average air quality index.
- FEMA National Risk Index: expected annual loss from natural hazards.
- CDC PLACES: disease burden, preventable risk, and barriers to care.
- National Center for Education Statistics: school enrollment and assessment inputs behind the school grade.
- FCC National Broadband Map: internet and wireless availability.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: employment and job growth behind the local economy score.
- Religious activity uses a proprietary religious signal measurement.
Your priorities
Move a slider to say how much a measure matters. Zero turns it off.