Best Places95949, CA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 95949, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. This page is for people who live here or already know they want to. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
95949 ranks 10,119th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores best on civic engagement, and taxes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 95949
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.
95949's strengths and weaknesses
Where 95949 ranks high
- Voter turnoutBetter than 88% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 145 pleasant days a year, better than 88% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than 85% of zip codes
- Low vacancyBetter than 80% of zip codes
- Household income$100,248 median, better than 80% of zip codes
Where 95949 ranks low
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 10% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than only 11% of zip codes
- Internet speedBetter than only 12% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 20% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$1,174 a month, better than only 21% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 95949
A household needs to earn about $142,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 95949 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $100,248, 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 95949's effective rate of 0.70%, 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 95949
95949 runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 95949.
Who works in 95949, and how
Work in 95949 centers on health care & social and retail trade. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 72%
- Work from home 25%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in 95949
95949 has fewer places to eat and drink per resident than most zip codes and more parkland per resident than 73% of zip codes. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 95949 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 95949, month by month
95949 sees roughly 145 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 90 degrees. January highs sit near 52, with lows near 39. The comfortable stretch runs May, June, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 52° | 45° | 39° |
| April | 64° | 54° | 47° |
| July | 90° | 80° | 71° |
| October | 72° | 63° | 56° |
Flying in and out of 95949
Sacramento International sits about 41 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 95949
Schools across 95949 average a B−, better than 57% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Bell Hill AcademyB · 48% proficient
- Alta Sierra ElementaryB · 47% proficient
- Clear Creek ElementaryB · 47% proficient
Top middle schools
- Magnolia IntermediateC · 32% proficient
- Lyman Gilmore MiddleD+ · 24% proficient
- Yuba Gardens IntermediateD− · 17% proficient
Top high schools
- Bear River HighA− · 65% proficient
- Colfax HighB · 48% proficient
- Nevada Union HighC · 34% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 95949 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
95949 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 95949 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 95949 suits
Retirees
The weather beats 88% of zip codes, health care access beats 85%, and it is quieter than 65%.
Common questions about living in 95949
Is 95949 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 95949 ranks 10,119th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on civic engagement, the weather, and health care access, and lowest on taxes and air quality. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 95949 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $549,037. The overall cost of living runs about 14% above the national average. Set against a $100,248 median income, cost of living beats 60% of zip codes.
Is 95949 safe?
Yes, 95949 is safer than 65% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $288 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 95949?
July highs average about 90 degrees, and January highs near 52 with lows near 39. That works out to about 145 pleasant days a year, more than 88% of zip codes.
Is 95949 good for families?
Schools beat 57% of zip codes, crime safety beats 65%, and childcare runs $1,174 a month.
Compare 95949 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 95949. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 95949 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.
95949 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 95949: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 95949: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 95949: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 95949: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
95949 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.