Best Places83542, ID Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 83542, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Several measures below read low, and the ranked lists name which ones. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
83542 ranks 29,915th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on state finances by a wide margin, and cell coverage ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 83542
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.
83542's strengths and weaknesses
Where 83542 ranks high
- State fiscal healthBetter than 98% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than 97% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than 96% of zip codes
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 95% of zip codes
- Local economyBetter than 92% of zip codes
Where 83542 ranks low
- Cell coverageBetter than only 1% of zip codes
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 3% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than only 3% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 3% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 3% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 83542
A household needs to earn about $89,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 83542 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $56,845, so buying stretches a typical household.
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 83542's effective rate of 0.29%, 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 83542
83542 runs older than the country, and households here run smaller than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 83542.
Who works in 83542, and how
Work in 83542 centers on construction and agriculture & forestry. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 75%
- Work from home 15%
- Transit, walk, or bike 10%
Life in 83542
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 83542.
What the weather is like in 83542, month by month
83542 sees roughly 96 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 85 degrees. January highs sit near 37, with lows near 25. The comfortable stretch runs June through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 37° | 30° | 25° |
| April | 56° | 44° | 34° |
| July | 85° | 68° | 52° |
| October | 58° | 46° | 36° |
Flying in and out of 83542
The nearest airport, Lewiston/Nez Perce County, is about 68 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Boise Air Trml/Gowen Field, about 136 miles away.
The best schools in and around 83542
Schools across 83542 average a C+, better than 40% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Elk City SchoolA+ · 75% proficient
- Riggins Elementary SchoolC− · 30% proficient
Top high schools
- Grangeville High SchoolC+ · 40% proficient
- Salmon River Jr/sr High SchoolC+ · 35% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 83542 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
83542 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 83542 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 83542
Is 83542 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 83542 ranks 29,915th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on state finances, quiet, and low property taxes, and lowest on cell coverage and the cost of living against local pay. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 83542 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $366,300. The overall cost of living runs about 19% above the national average. Set against a $56,845 median income, cost of living beats 3% of zip codes.
Is 83542 safe?
83542 is safer than 33% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $419 per resident a year.
Compare 83542 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 83542. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 83542 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.
83542 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 83542: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 83542: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 83542: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 83542: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
83542 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.