Best Places96162, CA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 96162, 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.
96162 ranks 24,100th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on an educated workforce by a wide margin, and a weak job market ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 96162
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.
96162's strengths and weaknesses
Where 96162 ranks high
- Educational attainmentBetter than 99% of zip codes
- Heat safetyBetter than 99% of zip codes
- Household income$116,316 median, better than 88% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than 88% of zip codes
- Health outlookBetter than 86% of zip codes
Where 96162 ranks low
- Local economyBetter than only 3% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$1,572 a month, better than only 4% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than only 5% of zip codes
- Cell coverageBetter than only 7% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 7% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 96162
A household needs to earn about $262,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 96162 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $116,316, 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 96162's effective rate of 0.50%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Who lives in 96162
96162 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 96162.
Who works in 96162, and how
Work in 96162 centers on professional & technical and construction. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 35%
- Work from home 63%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in 96162
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 96162.
What the weather is like in 96162, month by month
96162 sees roughly 76 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 96162
The nearest airport, Reno/Tahoe International, is about 33 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Sacramento International, about 80 miles away.
The best schools in and around 96162
Schools across 96162 average a B+, better than 84% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Donner Trail ElementaryA+ · 83% proficient
- Truckee ElementaryC · 31% proficient
Top middle schools
- Alder Creek MiddleB− · 42% proficient
Top high schools
- Tahoe Truckee HighA− · 60% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 96162 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
96162 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 96162 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 96162
Is 96162 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 96162 ranks 24,100th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on an educated workforce, heat safety, and high incomes, and lowest on a weak job 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 96162 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $1,046,900. The overall cost of living runs about 32% above the national average. Set against a $116,316 median income, cost of living beats 64% of zip codes.
Is 96162 safe?
96162 is safer than 19% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $511 per resident a year.
Compare 96162 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 96162. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 96162 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.
96162 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 96162: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 96162: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 96162: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 96162: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
96162 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.