Best Places95842, CA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 95842, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Several measures below read low, and the ranked lists name which ones. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
95842 ranks 21,834th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on transit by a wide margin, and noise is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 95842
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.
95842's strengths and weaknesses
Where 95842 ranks high
- TransitBetter than 92% of zip codes
- Low vacancyBetter than 90% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 150 pleasant days a year, better than 89% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than 89% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than 88% of zip codes
Where 95842 ranks low
- QuietBetter than only 6% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 8% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 8% of zip codes
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 10% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$1,332 a month, better than only 13% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 95842
A household needs to earn about $101,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 95842 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $71,101, 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 95842's effective rate of 0.64%, 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 7 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 95842
95842 runs younger than the country, and households here run larger than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 95842.
Who works in 95842, and how
Work in 95842 centers on retail trade and health care & social. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 82%
- Work from home 13%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in 95842
95842 has fewer places to eat and drink per resident than most zip codes. That concentrates in some parts of 95842 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 95842, month by month
95842 sees roughly 150 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 97 degrees. January highs sit near 58, with lows near 41. The comfortable stretch runs April through June, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 58° | 48° | 41° |
| April | 75° | 60° | 49° |
| July | 97° | 78° | 63° |
| October | 80° | 65° | 52° |
Flying in and out of 95842
Sacramento International sits about 13 miles away. It is a medium hub and boarded 6.8 million passengers in 2025, with 85 nonstop destinations.
The best schools in and around 95842
Schools across 95842 average a C, better than 45% of zip codes.
Top high schools
- Mesa Verde HighD · 23% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 95842 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
95842 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 95842 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 95842 suits
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 13% already work from home.
Common questions about living in 95842
Is 95842 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 95842 ranks 21,834th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on transit, few empty homes, and the weather, and lowest on noise and thin health care access. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 95842 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $395,434. The overall cost of living runs about 10% above the national average. Set against a $71,101 median income, cost of living beats 15% of zip codes.
Is 95842 safe?
95842 is safer than 13% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $558 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 95842?
July highs average about 97 degrees, and January highs near 58 with lows near 41. That works out to about 150 pleasant days a year, more than 89% of zip codes.
Is 95842 good for families?
Schools beat 45% of zip codes, crime safety beats 13%, and childcare runs $1,332 a month.
Compare 95842 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 95842. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 95842 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.
95842 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 95842: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 95842: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 95842: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 95842: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
95842 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.