Best Places95209, CA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 95209, 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.
95209 ranks 16,562nd of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on few empty homes by a wide margin, and summer heat is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 95209
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.
95209's strengths and weaknesses
Where 95209 ranks high
- Low vacancyBetter than 95% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than 93% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than 89% of zip codes
- Health outlookBetter than 88% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than 86% of zip codes
Where 95209 ranks low
- Heat safetyBetter than only 4% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than only 6% of zip codes
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 10% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than only 14% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 15% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 95209
A household needs to earn about $130,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 95209 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $108,623, 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 95209's effective rate of 0.72%, 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 10 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 95209
95209 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 95209.
Who works in 95209, and how
Work in 95209 centers on health care & social and education. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 86%
- Work from home 12%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in 95209
95209 has fewer places to eat and drink per resident than most zip codes and more parkland per resident than 77% of zip codes. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 95209 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 95209, month by month
95209 sees roughly 135 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 98 degrees. January highs sit near 61, with lows near 39. The comfortable stretch runs March through June, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 61° | 49° | 39° |
| April | 77° | 61° | 46° |
| July | 98° | 78° | 60° |
| October | 83° | 65° | 49° |
Flying in and out of 95209
The nearest airport, Stockton Metro, is about 12 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Sacramento International, about 47 miles away.
The best schools in and around 95209
Schools across 95209 average a C−, better than 26% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- John Muir ElementaryB− · 42% proficient
- Manlio Silva ElementaryB− · 40% proficient
- Ellerth E. Larson ElementaryB− · 40% proficient
Top middle schools
- ElkhornA+ · 92% proficient
- Sierra MiddleC · 33% proficient
- Christa Mcauliffe MiddleC · 31% proficient
Top high schools
- Middle College HighA · 76% proficient
- Lincoln HighB− · 43% proficient
- Bear Creek HighC · 33% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 95209 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
95209 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 95209 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 95209 suits
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 12% already work from home.
Common questions about living in 95209
Is 95209 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 95209 ranks 16,562nd of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on few empty homes, biking, and big-city access, and lowest on summer heat and air quality. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 95209 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $501,142. The overall cost of living runs about 10% above the national average. Set against a $108,623 median income, cost of living beats 68% of zip codes.
Is 95209 safe?
95209 is safer than 14% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $588 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 95209?
July highs average about 98 degrees, and January highs near 61 with lows near 39. That works out to about 135 pleasant days a year, more than 84% of zip codes.
Is 95209 good for families?
Schools beat 26% of zip codes, crime safety beats 14%, and childcare runs $1,299 a month.
Compare 95209 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 95209. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 95209 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.
95209 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 95209: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 95209: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 95209: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 95209: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
95209 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.