Best Places95562, CA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 95562, 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.
95562 ranks 31,652nd of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. The cost of living against local pay pulls hardest against it, while it scores best on the weather.
The best neighborhoods in 95562
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.
95562's strengths and weaknesses
Where 95562 ranks high
- Nice weatherabout 149 pleasant days a year, better than 89% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than 88% of zip codes
- Short commute20.0 minutes each way, better than 85% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than 80% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than 78% of zip codes
Where 95562 ranks low
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 3% of zip codes
- School gradeD, better than only 5% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 5% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than only 7% of zip codes
- Local economyBetter than only 8% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 95562
A household needs to earn about $81,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 95562 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $49,484, 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 95562's effective rate of 0.57%, 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 95562
95562 runs younger 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 95562.
Who works in 95562, and how
Work in 95562 centers on retail trade and other services. Unemployment runs well above the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 84%
- Work from home 12%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in 95562
The coast is about 27 minutes away. Distance to the water changes a lot across 95562, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 95562, month by month
95562 sees roughly 149 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 65 degrees. January highs sit near 55, with lows near 42. The comfortable stretch runs June through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 55° | 47° | 42° |
| April | 58° | 50° | 44° |
| July | 65° | 57° | 52° |
| October | 65° | 54° | 47° |
Flying in and out of 95562
The nearest airport, California Redwood Coast- Humboldt County, is about 33 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Sacramento International, about 183 miles away.
The best schools in and around 95562
Schools across 95562 average a D, better than 5% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Ferndale ElementaryC− · 27% proficient
- Stanwood A. Murphy ElementaryC− · 27% proficient
- Linell K. Walker ElementaryD · 20% proficient
Top middle schools
- Monument MiddleD− · 17% proficient
- Fortuna MiddleD− · 15% proficient
Top high schools
- Fortuna Union HighD · 22% proficient
- Ferndale HighD · 19% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 95562 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
95562 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 95562 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 95562
Is 95562 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 95562 ranks 31,652nd of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on the weather, transit, and short commutes, and lowest on the cost of living against local pay and the schools. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 95562 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $319,472. The overall cost of living runs about 3% above the national average. Set against a $49,484 median income, cost of living beats 3% of zip codes.
Is 95562 safe?
95562 is safer than 7% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $714 per resident a year.
Compare 95562 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 95562. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 95562 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.
95562 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 95562: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 95562: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 95562: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 95562: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
95562 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.