Best Places96120, CA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 96120, 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.
96120 ranks 20,978th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on quiet by a wide margin, and air quality ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 96120
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.
96120's strengths and weaknesses
Where 96120 ranks high
- QuietBetter than 97% of zip codes
- Household income$105,521 median, better than 83% of zip codes
- Educational attainmentBetter than 81% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than 77% of zip codes
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 75% of zip codes
Where 96120 ranks low
- Air qualityBetter than only 4% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than only 7% of zip codes
- Low vacancyBetter than only 8% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 9% of zip codes
- Cell coverageBetter than only 9% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 96120
A household needs to earn about $149,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 96120 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $105,521, 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 96120's effective rate of 0.55%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Who lives in 96120
96120's age mix sits close to the national median, 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 96120.
Who works in 96120, and how
Work in 96120 centers on arts & entertainment 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 76%
- Work from home 18%
- Transit, walk, or bike 6%
Life in 96120
96120 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 99% of zip codes. That concentrates in some parts of 96120 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 96120, month by month
96120 sees roughly 108 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 83 degrees. January highs sit near 44, with lows near 18. The comfortable stretch runs June through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 44° | 30° | 18° |
| April | 57° | 41° | 27° |
| July | 83° | 64° | 43° |
| October | 65° | 45° | 28° |
Flying in and out of 96120
The nearest airport, Reno/Tahoe International, is about 50 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Sacramento International, about 97 miles away.
The best schools in and around 96120
Schools across 96120 average a C+, better than 50% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Lee Vining ElementaryB · 47% proficient
- Diamond Valley ElementaryB− · 40% proficient
- Twain HarteC · 33% proficient
Top high schools
- Coleville HighB− · 42% proficient
- Lee Vining HighC+ · 37% proficient
- Douglas High SchoolC · 31% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 96120 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
96120 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 96120 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 96120
Is 96120 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 96120 ranks 20,978th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on quiet, high incomes, and an educated workforce, and lowest on air quality and crime. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 96120 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $590,200. The overall cost of living runs about 6% above the national average. Set against a $105,521 median income, cost of living beats 75% of zip codes.
Is 96120 safe?
96120 is safer than 7% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $681 per resident a year.
Compare 96120 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 96120. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 96120 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.
96120 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 96120: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 96120: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 96120: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 96120: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
96120 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.