Best Places96150, CA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 96150, 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.
96150 ranks 15,786th 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 96150
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.
96150's strengths and weaknesses
Where 96150 ranks high
- Heat safetyBetter than 97% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than 96% of zip codes
- Short commute18.1 minutes each way, better than 91% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than 88% of zip codes
- Health outlookBetter than 85% of zip codes
Where 96150 ranks low
- Cheap childcare$1,556 a month, better than only 4% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter 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
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 13% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 96150
A household needs to earn about $204,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 96150 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $102,889, 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 96150's effective rate of 0.66%, 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 96150
96150 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 96150.
Who works in 96150, and how
Work in 96150 centers on hospitality & food and health care & social. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 66%
- Work from home 19%
- Transit, walk, or bike 15%
Life in 96150
96150 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 92% of zip codes and more parkland per resident than 77% of zip codes. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 96150 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 96150, month by month
96150 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 96150
The nearest airport, Reno/Tahoe International, is about 42 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Sacramento International, about 88 miles away.
The best schools in and around 96150
Schools across 96150 average a C+, better than 46% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Silver Fork ElementaryB · 50% proficient
- Georgetown ElementaryC− · 28% proficient
Top high schools
- El Dorado HighB− · 45% proficient
- Golden Sierra Junior Senior HighC− · 27% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 96150 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
96150 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 96150 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 96150 suits
Common questions about living in 96150
Is 96150 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 96150 ranks 15,786th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on heat safety, biking, and short commutes, and lowest on childcare costs and air quality. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 96150 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $795,276. The overall cost of living runs about 29% above the national average. Set against a $102,889 median income, cost of living beats 50% of zip codes.
Is 96150 safe?
96150 is safer than 19% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $523 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 96150?
July highs average about 83 degrees, and January highs near 44 with lows near 18. That works out to about 105 pleasant days a year, more than 67% of zip codes.
Is 96150 good for families?
Schools beat 46% of zip codes, crime safety beats 19%, and childcare runs $1,556 a month.
Compare 96150 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 96150. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 96150 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.
96150 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 96150: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 96150: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 96150: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 96150: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
96150 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.