Best Places93242, CA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 93242, 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.
93242 ranks 29,393rd of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. Air quality pulls hardest against it, while it scores best on low property taxes.
The best neighborhoods in 93242
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.
93242's strengths and weaknesses
Where 93242 ranks high
- Low property taxBetter than 87% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 139 pleasant days a year, better than 85% of zip codes
- Cell coverageBetter than 82% of zip codes
- Short commute21.0 minutes each way, better than 81% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than 79% of zip codes
Where 93242 ranks low
- Air qualityBetter than only 1% of zip codes
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 4% of zip codes
- School gradeD, better than only 4% of zip codes
- Heat safetyBetter than only 5% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 5% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 93242
A household needs to earn about $96,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 93242 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $77,054, 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 93242's effective rate of 0.45%, 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 93242
93242 runs younger than the country, and households here run larger than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 93242.
Who works in 93242, and how
Work in 93242 centers on agriculture & forestry and health care & social. Unemployment runs well above the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 77%
- Work from home 6%
- Transit, walk, or bike 17%
Life in 93242
93242 has more parkland per resident than 96% of zip codes. That concentrates in some parts of 93242 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 93242, month by month
93242 sees roughly 139 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 102 degrees. January highs sit near 61, with lows near 38. The comfortable stretch runs March through May and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 61° | 48° | 38° |
| April | 80° | 63° | 47° |
| July | 102° | 85° | 64° |
| October | 84° | 65° | 48° |
Flying in and out of 93242
The nearest airport, Fresno Yosemite International, is about 24 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Norman Y Mineta San Jose International, about 138 miles away.
The best schools in and around 93242
Schools across 93242 average a D, better than 4% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Meadow Lane ElementaryC · 30% proficient
- Fipps PrimaryD+ · 23% proficient
- Traver ElementaryD · 17% proficient
Top middle schools
- Liberty MiddleB− · 40% proficient
- Riverdale ElementaryD+ · 26% proficient
- Laton MiddleF · 7% proficient
Top high schools
- Kingsburg HighB− · 44% proficient
- Lemoore HighC+ · 35% proficient
- Riverdale HighC · 32% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 93242 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
93242 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 93242 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 93242
Is 93242 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 93242 ranks 29,393rd of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on low property taxes, the weather, and cell coverage, and lowest on air quality and education levels. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 93242 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $385,583. The overall cost of living runs about 18% above the national average. Set against a $77,054 median income, cost of living beats 15% of zip codes.
Is 93242 safe?
93242 is safer than 30% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $428 per resident a year.
Compare 93242 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 93242. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 93242 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.
93242 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 93242: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 93242: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 93242: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 93242: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
93242 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.