Best Places95388, CA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 95388, 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.
95388 ranks 28,552nd of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. Education levels pulls hardest against it, while it scores best on the weather.
The best neighborhoods in 95388
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.
95388's strengths and weaknesses
Where 95388 ranks high
- Nice weatherabout 145 pleasant days a year, better than 88% of zip codes
- Cell coverageBetter than 84% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than 83% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than 81% of zip codes
- Low vacancyBetter than 81% of zip codes
Where 95388 ranks low
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 1% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 2% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 2% of zip codes
- Tree shadeBetter than only 9% of zip codes
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 10% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 95388
A household needs to earn about $89,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 95388 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $59,987, 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 95388's effective rate of 0.62%, 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 95388
95388 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 95388.
Who works in 95388, and how
Work in 95388 centers on agriculture & forestry and manufacturing. 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 6%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in 95388
95388 has fewer places to eat and drink per resident than most zip codes. That concentrates in some parts of 95388 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 95388, month by month
95388 sees roughly 145 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 100 degrees. January highs sit near 60, with lows near 41. The comfortable stretch runs March through May and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 60° | 50° | 41° |
| April | 77° | 61° | 48° |
| July | 100° | 83° | 65° |
| October | 83° | 66° | 50° |
Flying in and out of 95388
The nearest airport, Merced Yosemite Regional, is about 9 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Norman Y Mineta San Jose International, about 72 miles away.
The best schools in and around 95388
Schools across 95388 average a C−, better than 22% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Snelling-merced Falls ElementaryC · 34% proficient
- Yamato Colony ElementaryC · 31% proficient
- Frank Sparkes ElementaryC · 31% proficient
Top middle schools
- Winton MiddleC− · 30% proficient
- Livingston MiddleD− · 17% proficient
Top high schools
- El Capitan HighC · 33% proficient
- Atwater HighC · 31% proficient
- Buhach Colony HighC− · 29% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 95388 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
95388 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 95388 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 95388
Is 95388 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 95388 ranks 28,552nd of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on the weather, cell coverage, and transit, and lowest on education levels 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 95388 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $349,079. The overall cost of living runs about 2% below the national average. Set against a $59,987 median income, cost of living beats 10% of zip codes.
Is 95388 safe?
95388 is safer than 32% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $410 per resident a year.
Compare 95388 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 95388. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 95388 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.
95388 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 95388: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 95388: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 95388: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 95388: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
95388 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.