Best Places96087, CA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 96087, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Local pay runs high here, and housing takes the biggest bite out of it. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
96087 ranks 21,256th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on quiet by a wide margin, and summer heat is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 96087
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.
96087's strengths and weaknesses
Where 96087 ranks high
- QuietBetter than 97% of zip codes
- Internet speedBetter than 88% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 135 pleasant days a year, better than 83% of zip codes
- Household income$101,245 median, better than 81% of zip codes
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 78% of zip codes
Where 96087 ranks low
- Heat safetyBetter than only 1% of zip codes
- Local economyBetter than only 2% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 4% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 8% of zip codes
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 10% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 96087
A household needs to earn about $100,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 96087 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $101,245, so a typical household can afford the median home outright.
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 96087's effective rate of 0.61%, 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 96087
96087 runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 96087.
Who works in 96087, and how
Work in 96087 centers on public administration and health care & social. Unemployment runs well above the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 77%
- Work from home 14%
- Transit, walk, or bike 9%
Life in 96087
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 96087.
What the weather is like in 96087, month by month
96087 sees roughly 135 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 99 degrees. January highs sit near 56, with lows near 39. The comfortable stretch runs April through June, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 56° | 45° | 39° |
| April | 71° | 58° | 47° |
| July | 99° | 82° | 66° |
| October | 78° | 62° | 51° |
Flying in and out of 96087
The nearest airport, Redding Regional, is about 13 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Sacramento International, about 141 miles away.
The best schools in and around 96087
Schools across 96087 average a B, better than 70% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Grant ElementaryA · 63% proficient
- French Gulch-whiskeytown ElementaryA− · 60% proficient
- Shasta ElementaryC− · 30% proficient
Top high schools
- Shasta HighA− · 60% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 96087 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
96087 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 96087 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 96087
Is 96087 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 96087 ranks 21,256th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on quiet, fast internet, and the weather, and lowest on summer heat and a weak job market. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 96087 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $392,715. The overall cost of living runs about 3% above the national average. Set against a $101,245 median income, cost of living beats 78% of zip codes.
Is 96087 safe?
96087 is safer than 28% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $454 per resident a year.
Compare 96087 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 96087. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 96087 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.
96087 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 96087: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 96087: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 96087: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 96087: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
96087 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.