Best Places96117, CA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 96117, 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.
96117 ranks 18,078th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on quiet by a wide margin, and thin health care access ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 96117
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.
96117's strengths and weaknesses
Where 96117 ranks high
- QuietBetter than 97% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 164 pleasant days a year, better than 93% of zip codes
- Short commute17.4 minutes each way, better than 93% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than 90% of zip codes
- Health outlookBetter than 80% of zip codes
Where 96117 ranks low
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 1% of zip codes
- Tree shadeBetter than only 5% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 9% of zip codes
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 10% of zip codes
- School gradeD+, better than only 12% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 96117
A household needs to earn about $95,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 96117 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $88,597; 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 96117's effective rate of 0.88%, 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 96117
96117 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 96117.
Who works in 96117, and how
Work in 96117 centers on public administration and health care & social. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 88%
- Work from home 8%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in 96117
96117 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 98% of zip codes. That concentrates in some parts of 96117 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 96117, month by month
96117 sees roughly 164 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 93 degrees. January highs sit near 46, with lows near 27. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 46° | 35° | 27° |
| April | 65° | 50° | 36° |
| July | 93° | 75° | 54° |
| October | 68° | 48° | 34° |
Flying in and out of 96117
The nearest airport, Reno/Tahoe International, is about 70 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Sacramento International, about 134 miles away.
The best schools in and around 96117
Schools across 96117 average a D+, better than 12% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Meadow ViewC− · 28% proficient
- Shaffer ElementaryD · 20% proficient
Top middle schools
- Diamond View MiddleD+ · 26% proficient
Top high schools
- Lassen HighC− · 28% proficient
- Modoc HighD− · 17% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 96117 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
96117 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 96117 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 96117
Is 96117 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 96117 ranks 18,078th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on quiet, the weather, and short commutes, and lowest on thin health care access and tree cover. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 96117 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $358,746. The overall cost of living runs about 19% above the national average. Set against a $88,597 median income, cost of living beats 26% of zip codes.
Is 96117 safe?
Yes, 96117 is safer than 90% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $223 per resident a year.
Compare 96117 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 96117. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 96117 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.
96117 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 96117: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 96117: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 96117: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 96117: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
96117 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.