Best Places95986, CA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 95986, 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.
95986 ranks 30,235th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. Cell coverage pulls hardest against it, while it scores best on tree cover.
The best neighborhoods in 95986
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.
95986's strengths and weaknesses
Where 95986 ranks high
- Tree shadeBetter than 85% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 134 pleasant days a year, better than 83% of zip codes
- Educational attainmentBetter than 81% of zip codes
- Local economyBetter than 79% of zip codes
- Heat safetyBetter than 78% of zip codes
Where 95986 ranks low
- Cell coverageBetter than only 1% of zip codes
- Short commute44.0 minutes each way, better than only 2% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 6% of zip codes
- Low vacancyBetter than only 8% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 8% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 95986
A household needs to earn about $203,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 95986 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $59,628, 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 95986's effective rate of 0.83%, 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 95986
95986 runs older 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 95986.
Who works in 95986, and how
Work in 95986 centers on construction and agriculture & forestry. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 57%
- Work from home 39%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in 95986
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 95986.
What the weather is like in 95986, month by month
95986 sees roughly 134 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 81 degrees. January highs sit near 48, with lows near 33. The comfortable stretch runs June through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 48° | 39° | 33° |
| April | 57° | 47° | 38° |
| July | 81° | 72° | 64° |
| October | 66° | 56° | 48° |
Flying in and out of 95986
The nearest airport, Reno/Tahoe International, is about 56 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Sacramento International, about 62 miles away.
The best schools in and around 95986
Schools across 95986 average a B+, better than 76% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Deer Creek ElementaryB · 50% proficient
- Alta-dutch Flat ElementaryC+ · 37% proficient
Top middle schools
- Seven Hills IntermediateB · 45% proficient
Top high schools
- Tahoe Truckee HighA− · 60% proficient
- Nevada Union HighC · 34% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 95986 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
95986 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 95986 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 95986
Is 95986 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 95986 ranks 30,235th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on tree cover, the weather, and an educated workforce, and lowest on cell coverage and long commutes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 95986 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $772,700. The overall cost of living runs about 31% above the national average. Set against a $59,628 median income, cost of living beats 10% of zip codes.
Is 95986 safe?
95986 is safer than 51% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $327 per resident a year.
Compare 95986 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 95986. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 95986 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.
95986 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 95986: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 95986: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 95986: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 95986: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
95986 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.