Best Places86426, AZ Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 86426, 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.
86426 ranks 16,919th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on the weather by a wide margin, and summer heat is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 86426
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.
86426's strengths and weaknesses
Where 86426 ranks high
- Nice weatherabout 219 pleasant days a year, better than 98% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than 96% of zip codes
- Short commute21.1 minutes each way, better than 80% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than 77% of zip codes
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 75% of zip codes
Where 86426 ranks low
- Heat safetyBetter than only 1% of zip codes
- Tree shadeBetter than only 2% of zip codes
- School gradeD+, better than only 15% of zip codes
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 16% of zip codes
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 20% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 86426
A household needs to earn about $70,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 86426 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $63,944; 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 86426's effective rate of 0.59%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices, buying tends to cost more than renting for about the first 8 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 86426
86426 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 86426.
Who works in 86426, and how
Work in 86426 centers on retail trade and health care & social. Unemployment runs well above the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 92%
- Work from home 4%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in 86426
86426 has more parkland per resident than 67% of zip codes. That concentrates in some parts of 86426 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 86426, month by month
86426 sees roughly 219 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 111 degrees. January highs sit near 64, with lows near 47. The comfortable stretch runs November through April.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 64° | 55° | 47° |
| April | 88° | 75° | 62° |
| July | 111° | 100° | 87° |
| October | 89° | 77° | 65° |
Flying in and out of 86426
The nearest airport, Boulder City Municipal, is about 67 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Harry Reid International, about 81 miles away.
The best schools in and around 86426
Schools across 86426 average a D+, better than 15% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Young Scholars AcademyB · 47% proficient
- Desert Star AcademyC · 35% proficient
- Camp Mohave Elementary SchoolC · 35% proficient
Top middle schools
- Mohave Valley Junior High SchoolC− · 30% proficient
- Fox Creek Jr High SchoolD− · 15% proficient
Top high schools
- Mohave High SchoolD− · 18% proficient
- Academy Of Building IndustriesF · 10% proficient
- River Valley High SchoolF · 10% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 86426 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
86426 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 86426 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 86426
Is 86426 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 86426 ranks 16,919th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on the weather, clean air, and short commutes, and lowest on summer heat and tree cover. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 86426 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $274,315. The overall cost of living runs about 2% below the national average. Set against a $63,944 median income, cost of living beats 20% of zip codes.
Is 86426 safe?
Yes, 86426 is safer than 73% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $258 per resident a year.
Compare 86426 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 86426. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 86426 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.
86426 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 86426: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 86426: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 86426: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 86426: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
86426 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.