Best Places95242, CA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 95242, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Local pay runs high here, and housing takes the biggest bite out of it. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
95242 ranks 14,153rd of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. Crime pulls hardest against it, while it scores best on cell coverage.
The best neighborhoods in 95242
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.
95242's strengths and weaknesses
Where 95242 ranks high
- Cell coverageBetter than 90% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than 88% of zip codes
- Household income$113,062 median, better than 87% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than 86% of zip codes
- Health outlookBetter than 85% of zip codes
Where 95242 ranks low
- Crime safetyBetter than only 2% of zip codes
- Heat safetyBetter than only 4% of zip codes
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 10% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than only 12% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$1,299 a month, better than only 16% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 95242
A household needs to earn about $149,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 95242 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $113,062, 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 95242's effective rate of 0.73%, 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 95242
95242's age mix sits close to the national median.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 95242.
Who works in 95242, and how
Work in 95242 centers on health care & social and education. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 82%
- Work from home 15%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in 95242
95242 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 72% of zip codes and more parkland per resident than 88% of zip codes. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 95242 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 95242, month by month
95242 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 95242
The nearest airport, Stockton Metro, is about 16 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Sacramento International, about 42 miles away.
The best schools in and around 95242
Schools across 95242 average a B−, better than 63% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Vinewood ElementaryB+ · 50% proficient
- Ellerth E. Larson ElementaryB− · 40% proficient
- Julia Morgan ElementaryC+ · 37% proficient
Top middle schools
- Christa Mcauliffe MiddleC · 31% proficient
- Millswood MiddleD+ · 26% proficient
- Lodi MiddleD · 22% proficient
Top high schools
- Middle College HighA · 76% proficient
- Lodi HighC+ · 39% proficient
- Bear Creek HighC · 33% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 95242 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
95242 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 95242 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 95242 suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 74% of zip codes, internet is fast and widely advertised, and 15% already work from home.
Common questions about living in 95242
Is 95242 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 95242 ranks 14,153rd of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on cell coverage, big-city access, and high incomes, and lowest on crime and summer heat. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 95242 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $576,133. The overall cost of living runs about 14% above the national average. Set against a $113,062 median income, cost of living beats 74% of zip codes.
Is 95242 safe?
95242 is safer than 2% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $1,032 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 95242?
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 83% of zip codes.
Is 95242 good for families?
Schools beat 63% of zip codes, crime safety beats 2%, and childcare runs $1,299 a month.
Compare 95242 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 95242. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 95242 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.
95242 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 95242: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 95242: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 95242: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 95242: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
95242 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.