Best Places95340, CA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 95340, 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.
95340 ranks 21,259th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on biking by a wide margin, and civic engagement ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 95340
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.
95340's strengths and weaknesses
Where 95340 ranks high
- BikingBetter than 91% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than 87% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than 86% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 139 pleasant days a year, better than 85% of zip codes
- Cell coverageBetter than 81% of zip codes
Where 95340 ranks low
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 8% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 10% of zip codes
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 10% of zip codes
- School gradeD+, better than only 11% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than only 14% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 95340
A household needs to earn about $106,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 95340 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $76,332, 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 95340's effective rate of 0.68%, 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 95340
95340 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 95340.
Who works in 95340, and how
Work in 95340 centers on education 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 81%
- Work from home 12%
- Transit, walk, or bike 7%
Life in 95340
95340 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 66% of zip codes and more parkland per resident than 67% of zip codes. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 95340 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 95340, month by month
95340 sees roughly 139 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 100 degrees. January highs sit near 60, with lows near 37. The comfortable stretch runs April, May, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 60° | 48° | 37° |
| April | 77° | 61° | 45° |
| July | 100° | 81° | 62° |
| October | 83° | 65° | 48° |
Flying in and out of 95340
The nearest airport, Merced Yosemite Regional, is about 4 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Norman Y Mineta San Jose International, about 81 miles away.
The best schools in and around 95340
Schools across 95340 average a D+, better than 11% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Snelling-merced Falls ElementaryC · 34% proficient
- Allan Peterson ElementaryC− · 30% proficient
- Luther Burbank ElementaryC− · 30% proficient
Top middle schools
- Weaver MiddleD+ · 26% proficient
- Cesar E. Chavez MiddleD · 20% proficient
- Herbert H. Cruickshank MiddleD− · 18% proficient
Top high schools
- El Capitan HighC · 33% proficient
- Merced HighC · 31% proficient
- Golden Valley HighC− · 29% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 95340 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
95340 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 95340 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 95340 suits
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 12% already work from home.
Common questions about living in 95340
Is 95340 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 95340 ranks 21,259th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on biking, transit, and walkability, and lowest on civic engagement and thin health care access. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 95340 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $411,684. The overall cost of living runs about 3% below the national average. Set against a $76,332 median income, cost of living beats 40% of zip codes.
Is 95340 safe?
95340 is safer than 21% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $547 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 95340?
July highs average about 100 degrees, and January highs near 60 with lows near 37. That works out to about 139 pleasant days a year, more than 85% of zip codes.
Is 95340 good for families?
Schools beat 11% of zip codes, crime safety beats 21%, and childcare runs $979 a month.
Compare 95340 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 95340. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 95340 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.
95340 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 95340: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 95340: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 95340: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 95340: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
95340 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.