Best Places95531, CA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 95531, 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.
95531 ranks 24,353rd of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on clean air by a wide margin, and distance from a big city ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 95531
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.
95531's strengths and weaknesses
Where 95531 ranks high
- Air qualityBetter than 94% of zip codes
- Heat safetyBetter than 91% of zip codes
- Short commute19.4 minutes each way, better than 87% of zip codes
- Internet speedBetter than 82% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than 81% of zip codes
Where 95531 ranks low
- Big-city accessBetter than only 6% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 9% of zip codes
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 10% of zip codes
- Local economyBetter than only 13% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 19% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 95531
A household needs to earn about $91,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 95531 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $69,797, 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 95531's effective rate of 0.55%, 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 9 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 95531
95531'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 95531.
Who works in 95531, and how
Work in 95531 centers on public administration and health care & social. Unemployment runs well above the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 87%
- Work from home 8%
- Transit, walk, or bike 5%
Life in 95531
95531 has more parkland per resident than 76% of zip codes. The coast is about 6 minutes away. That concentrates in some parts of 95531 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 95531, month by month
95531 sees roughly 129 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 63 degrees. January highs sit near 56, with lows near 42. The comfortable stretch runs June through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 56° | 49° | 42° |
| April | 57° | 51° | 44° |
| July | 63° | 57° | 52° |
| October | 63° | 54° | 47° |
Flying in and out of 95531
The nearest airport, Jack McNamara Field, is about 3 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Sacramento International, about 254 miles away.
The best schools in and around 95531
Schools across 95531 average a C−, better than 24% of zip codes.
Top high schools
- Happy Camp HighB · 50% proficient
- Del Norte HighC− · 30% proficient
- Sunset HighD− · 12% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 95531 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
95531 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 95531 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 95531 suits
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 8% already work from home.
Common questions about living in 95531
Is 95531 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 95531 ranks 24,353rd of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on clean air, heat safety, and short commutes, and lowest on distance from a big city and disaster risk. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 95531 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $361,365. The overall cost of living runs about 4% above the national average. Set against a $69,797 median income, cost of living beats 20% of zip codes.
Is 95531 safe?
95531 is safer than 26% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $452 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 95531?
July highs average about 63 degrees, and January highs near 56 with lows near 42. That works out to about 129 pleasant days a year, more than 80% of zip codes.
Is 95531 good for families?
Schools beat 24% of zip codes, crime safety beats 26%, and childcare runs $886 a month.
Compare 95531 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 95531. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 95531 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.
95531 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 95531: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 95531: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 95531: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 95531: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
95531 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.