Best Places95420, CA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 95420, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. The coast is close, and the measures below put a number on how close. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
95420 ranks 29,980th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. A weak job market pulls hardest against it, while it scores best on tree cover.
The best neighborhoods in 95420
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.
95420's strengths and weaknesses
Where 95420 ranks high
- Tree shadeBetter than 84% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than 79% of zip codes
- Educational attainmentBetter than 78% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than 78% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 122 pleasant days a year, better than 76% of zip codes
Where 95420 ranks low
- Local economyBetter than only 2% of zip codes
- Heat safetyBetter than only 2% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than only 5% of zip codes
- Cell coverageBetter than only 5% of zip codes
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 10% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 95420
A household needs to earn about $134,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 95420 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $65,435, 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 95420's effective rate of 0.79%, 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 95420
95420 runs older than the country, and households here run smaller than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 95420.
Who works in 95420, and how
Work in 95420 centers on health care & social and retail trade. Unemployment runs well above the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 88%
- Work from home 8%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in 95420
The coast is about 22 minutes away. Distance to the water changes a lot across 95420, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 95420, month by month
95420 sees roughly 122 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 98 degrees. January highs sit near 60, with lows near 38. The comfortable stretch runs April through June and August through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 60° | 47° | 38° |
| April | 74° | 57° | 42° |
| July | 98° | 76° | 56° |
| October | 82° | 61° | 45° |
Flying in and out of 95420
The nearest airport, Charles M Schulz/Sonoma County, is about 80 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Sacramento International, about 127 miles away.
The best schools in and around 95420
Schools across 95420 average a C, better than 35% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Mendocino K-8C · 35% proficient
Top high schools
- Mendocino HighB · 50% proficient
- Fort Bragg HighC · 33% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 95420 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
95420 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 95420 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 95420
Is 95420 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 95420 ranks 29,980th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on tree cover, transit, and an educated workforce, and lowest on a weak job market and summer heat. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 95420 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $511,200. The overall cost of living runs about 20% above the national average. Set against a $65,435 median income, cost of living beats 17% of zip codes.
Is 95420 safe?
95420 is safer than 5% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $901 per resident a year.
Compare 95420 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 95420. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 95420 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.
95420 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 95420: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 95420: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 95420: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 95420: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
95420 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.