Best Places95550, CA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 95550, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Local pay runs high here, and housing takes the biggest bite out of it. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
95550 ranks 20,208th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on quiet by a wide margin, and internet speeds rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 95550
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.
95550's strengths and weaknesses
Where 95550 ranks high
- QuietBetter than 97% of zip codes
- Educational attainmentBetter than 92% of zip codes
- Short commute18.9 minutes each way, better than 89% of zip codes
- Household income$115,745 median, better than 88% of zip codes
- Tree shadeBetter than 88% of zip codes
Where 95550 ranks low
- Internet speedBetter than only 3% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than only 4% of zip codes
- Cell coverageBetter than only 5% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than only 5% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 8% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 95550
A household needs to earn about $188,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 95550 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $115,745, 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 95550'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 95550
95550 runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 95550.
Who works in 95550, and how
Work in 95550 centers on health care & social and education. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 75%
- Work from home 19%
- Transit, walk, or bike 6%
Life in 95550
The coast is about 37 minutes away. Distance to the water changes a lot across 95550, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 95550, month by month
95550 sees roughly 95 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 95550
The nearest airport, California Redwood Coast- Humboldt County, is about 17 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Sacramento International, about 190 miles away.
The best schools in and around 95550
Schools across 95550 average a B, better than 66% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Green Point ElementaryA+ · 75% proficient
- Arcata ElementaryC · 33% proficient
- Blue Lake Union ElementaryC− · 30% proficient
Top middle schools
- Sunny Brae MiddleB− · 42% proficient
Top high schools
- Arcata HighB+ · 58% proficient
- Fortuna Union HighD · 22% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 95550 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
95550 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 95550 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 95550
Is 95550 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 95550 ranks 20,208th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on quiet, an educated workforce, and short commutes, and lowest on internet speeds and crime. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 95550 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $737,888. The overall cost of living runs about 17% above the national average. Set against a $115,745 median income, cost of living beats 73% of zip codes.
Is 95550 safe?
95550 is safer than 4% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $855 per resident a year.
Compare 95550 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 95550. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 95550 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.
95550 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 95550: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 95550: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 95550: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 95550: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
95550 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.