Best Places96142, CA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 96142, 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.
96142 ranks 16,693rd of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on heat safety by a wide margin, and childcare costs are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 96142
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.
96142's strengths and weaknesses
Where 96142 ranks high
- Heat safetyBetter than 94% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than 89% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than 82% of zip codes
- Household income$98,537 median, better than 79% of zip codes
- Tree shadeBetter than 78% of zip codes
Where 96142 ranks low
- Cheap childcare$1,558 a month, better than only 4% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 6% of zip codes
- Low vacancyBetter than only 8% of zip codes
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 10% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than only 11% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 96142
A household needs to earn about $231,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 96142 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $98,537, 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 96142's effective rate of 0.63%, 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 96142
96142 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 96142.
Who works in 96142, and how
Work in 96142 centers on arts & entertainment and retail trade. Unemployment is low, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 71%
- Work from home 18%
- Transit, walk, or bike 11%
Life in 96142
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 96142.
What the weather is like in 96142, month by month
96142 sees roughly 105 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 96142
The nearest airport, Reno/Tahoe International, is about 36 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Sacramento International, about 82 miles away.
The best schools in and around 96142
Schools across 96142 average a B+, better than 73% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Tahoe Lake ElementaryB · 50% proficient
- Zephyr Cove Elementary SchoolC+ · 37% proficient
- Georgetown ElementaryC− · 28% proficient
Top middle schools
- North Tahoe MiddleB− · 42% proficient
Top high schools
- North Tahoe HighA− · 62% proficient
- Golden Sierra Junior Senior HighC− · 27% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 96142 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
96142 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 96142 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 96142
Is 96142 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 96142 ranks 16,693rd of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on heat safety, biking, and transit, and lowest on childcare costs and an overheated housing market. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 96142 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $904,506. The overall cost of living runs about 42% above the national average. Set against a $98,537 median income, cost of living beats 27% of zip codes.
Is 96142 safe?
96142 is safer than 31% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $428 per resident a year.
Compare 96142 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 96142. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 96142 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.
96142 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 96142: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 96142: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 96142: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 96142: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
96142 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.