Best Places96022, CA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 96022, 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.
96022 ranks 22,062nd of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. Summer heat pulls hardest against it, while it scores best on the weather.
The best neighborhoods in 96022
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.
96022's strengths and weaknesses
Where 96022 ranks high
- Nice weatherabout 118 pleasant days a year, better than 74% of zip codes
- Household income$91,158 median, better than 73% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than 68% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than 66% of zip codes
- Low vacancyBetter than 61% of zip codes
Where 96022 ranks low
- Heat safetyBetter than only 1% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 7% of zip codes
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 10% of zip codes
- Internet speedBetter than only 15% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 20% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 96022
A household needs to earn about $93,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 96022 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $91,158; the gap is small, which keeps homes within reach of local pay.
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 96022's effective rate of 0.66%, 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 9 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 96022
96022 runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 96022.
Who works in 96022, and how
Work in 96022 centers on retail trade and education. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 85%
- Work from home 13%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in 96022
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 96022.
What the weather is like in 96022, month by month
96022 sees roughly 118 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 103 degrees. January highs sit near 61, with lows near 38. The comfortable stretch runs April, May, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 61° | 49° | 38° |
| April | 76° | 62° | 47° |
| July | 103° | 86° | 67° |
| October | 83° | 66° | 50° |
Flying in and out of 96022
The nearest airport, Redding Regional, is about 10 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Sacramento International, about 121 miles away.
The best schools in and around 96022
Schools across 96022 average a C+, better than 45% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Cottonwood Creek CharterB+ · 53% proficient
- Evergreen ElementaryB · 46% proficient
- North CottonwoodC+ · 38% proficient
Top middle schools
- West Cottonwood Junior HighB− · 40% proficient
- Evergreen MiddleB− · 39% proficient
- Vista Preparatory AcademyD · 20% proficient
Top high schools
- Shasta HighA− · 60% proficient
- Anderson HighC+ · 38% proficient
- West Valley Early College HighC · 33% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 96022 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
96022 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 96022 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 96022
Is 96022 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 96022 ranks 22,062nd of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on the weather, high incomes, and low crime, and lowest on summer heat and disaster risk. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 96022 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $364,036. The overall cost of living runs about 2% above the national average. Set against a $91,158 median income, cost of living beats 60% of zip codes.
Is 96022 safe?
Yes, 96022 is safer than 68% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $292 per resident a year.
Compare 96022 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 96022. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 96022 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.
96022 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 96022: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 96022: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 96022: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 96022: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
96022 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.