Best Places96145, CA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 96145, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Several measures below read low, and the ranked lists name which ones. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
96145 ranks 15,437th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on heat safety by a wide margin, and an overheated housing market is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 96145
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.
96145's strengths and weaknesses
Where 96145 ranks high
- Heat safetyBetter than 98% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than 95% of zip codes
- Health outlookBetter than 94% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than 92% of zip codes
- Local economyBetter than 89% of zip codes
Where 96145 ranks low
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 3% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$1,572 a month, better than only 4% 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 14% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 96145
A household needs to earn about $242,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 96145 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $98,178, 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 96145's effective rate of 0.67%, 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 96145
96145 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 96145.
Who works in 96145, and how
Work in 96145 centers on admin & support services and education. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 58%
- Work from home 22%
- Transit, walk, or bike 20%
Life in 96145
96145 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 94% of zip codes and more parkland per resident than 98% of zip codes. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 96145 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 96145, month by month
96145 sees roughly 99 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 85 degrees. January highs sit near 43, with lows near 16. The comfortable stretch runs June through August.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 43° | 28° | 16° |
| April | 58° | 40° | 24° |
| July | 85° | 63° | 41° |
| October | 65° | 43° | 25° |
Flying in and out of 96145
The nearest airport, Reno/Tahoe International, is about 30 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Sacramento International, about 85 miles away.
The best schools in and around 96145
Schools across 96145 average a B+, better than 74% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Tahoe Lake ElementaryB · 50% proficient
Top middle schools
- North Tahoe MiddleB− · 42% proficient
Top high schools
- North Tahoe HighA− · 62% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 96145 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
96145 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 96145 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 96145
Is 96145 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 96145 ranks 15,437th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on heat safety, biking, and population health, and lowest on an overheated housing market and childcare costs. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 96145 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $943,554. The overall cost of living runs about 56% above the national average. Set against a $98,178 median income, cost of living beats 20% of zip codes.
Is 96145 safe?
96145 is safer than 19% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $593 per resident a year.
Compare 96145 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 96145. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 96145 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.
96145 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 96145: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 96145: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 96145: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 96145: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
96145 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.