Best Places95501, CA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 95501, 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.
95501 ranks 27,149th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on walkability by a wide margin, and disaster risk is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 95501
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.
95501's strengths and weaknesses
Where 95501 ranks high
- WalkabilityBetter than 96% of zip codes
- Short commute15.8 minutes each way, better than 96% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than 95% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than 93% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than 87% of zip codes
Where 95501 ranks low
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 1% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than only 5% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than only 8% of zip codes
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 10% of zip codes
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 10% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 95501
A household needs to earn about $100,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 95501 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $58,092, 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 95501's effective rate of 0.51%, 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 95501
95501's age mix sits close to the national median, 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 95501.
Who works in 95501, and how
Work in 95501 centers on health care & social and retail trade. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 76%
- Work from home 14%
- Transit, walk, or bike 11%
Life in 95501
95501 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 88% of zip codes and more parkland per resident than 65% of zip codes. The coast is about 5 minutes away. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 95501 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 95501, month by month
95501 sees roughly 129 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 64 degrees. January highs sit near 57, with lows near 40. The comfortable stretch runs June through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 57° | 49° | 40° |
| April | 58° | 50° | 42° |
| July | 64° | 57° | 52° |
| October | 64° | 54° | 44° |
Flying in and out of 95501
The nearest airport, California Redwood Coast- Humboldt County, is about 13 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Sacramento International, about 199 miles away.
The best schools in and around 95501
Schools across 95501 average a C−, better than 19% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Freshwater ElementaryB− · 40% proficient
- Washington ElementaryC · 33% proficient
- Grant ElementaryD · 18% proficient
Top middle schools
- Catherine L. Zane MiddleD · 24% proficient
- Winship MiddleD · 23% proficient
Top high schools
- Arcata HighB+ · 58% proficient
- Eureka Senior HighC+ · 35% proficient
- Zoe Barnum HighD− · 16% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 95501 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
95501 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 95501 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 95501 suits
Common questions about living in 95501
Is 95501 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 95501 ranks 27,149th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on walkability, short commutes, and biking, and lowest on disaster risk and crime. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 95501 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $398,515. The overall cost of living runs about 2% above the national average. Set against a $58,092 median income, cost of living beats 10% of zip codes.
Is 95501 safe?
95501 is safer than 5% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $866 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 95501?
July highs average about 64 degrees, and January highs near 57 with lows near 40. That works out to about 129 pleasant days a year, more than 80% of zip codes.
Is 95501 good for families?
Schools beat 19% of zip codes, crime safety beats 5%, and childcare runs $1,269 a month.
Compare 95501 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 95501. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 95501 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.
95501 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 95501: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 95501: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 95501: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 95501: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
95501 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.