Best PlacesApple Valley, CA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Apple Valley, 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.
Apple Valley ranks 1,773rd of 2,098 U.S. cities on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on quiet by a wide margin, and air quality ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Apple Valley
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.
Apple Valley's strengths and weaknesses
Where Apple Valley ranks high
- QuietBetter than 94% of cities
- Internet speedBetter than 89% of cities
- Nice weatherabout 177 pleasant days a year, better than 88% of cities
- Low property taxBetter than 81% of cities
- Low vacancyBetter than 76% of cities
Where Apple Valley ranks low
- Air qualityBetter than only 1% of cities
- Tree shadeBetter than only 1% of cities
- Short commute40.8 minutes each way, better than only 1% of cities
- WalkabilityBetter than only 6% of cities
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 12% of cities
What it costs to buy a home in Apple Valley
A household needs to earn about $103,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Apple Valley home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $76,120, 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 Apple Valley's effective rate of 0.64%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices, buying tends to cost more than renting for about the first 9 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Apple Valley
Apple Valley'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 Apple Valley.
Who works in Apple Valley, and how
Work in Apple Valley centers on health care & social and retail trade. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 87%
- Work from home 11%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in Apple Valley
Apple Valley has more parkland per resident than 75% of cities. That concentrates in some parts of Apple Valley and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Apple Valley, month by month
Apple Valley sees roughly 177 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 79 degrees. January highs sit near 45, with lows near 23. The comfortable stretch runs June through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 45° | 32° | 23° |
| April | 57° | 43° | 31° |
| July | 79° | 64° | 47° |
| October | 63° | 46° | 32° |
Flying in and out of Apple Valley
The nearest airport, San Bernardino International, is about 28 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Ontario International, about 38 miles away.
The best schools in and around Apple Valley
Schools across Apple Valley average a C+, better than 47% of cities.
Top elementary schools
- Phoenix AcademyD+ · 25% proficient
- Henderson ElementaryF · 10% proficient
- Rancho Verde ElementaryF · 10% proficient
Top middle schools
- Ranchero MiddleD+ · 25% proficient
- Mary P. Henck IntermediateD+ · 25% proficient
- Barstow Junior HighF · 7% proficient
Top high schools
- Sultana HighB · 47% proficient
- Barstow HighC− · 28% proficient
- Rim Of The World Senior HighD · 20% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Apple Valley school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Apple Valley 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 Apple Valley against the other 2,097 cities.
Who Apple Valley suits
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 11% already work from home.
Common questions about living in Apple Valley
Is Apple Valley a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Apple Valley ranks 1,773rd of 2,098 cities. It scores highest on quiet, fast internet, and the weather, and lowest on air quality and tree cover. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Apple Valley expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $402,320. The overall cost of living runs about 6% above the national average. Set against a $76,120 median income, cost of living beats 12% of cities.
Is Apple Valley safe?
Apple Valley is safer than 35% of cities. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $381 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Apple Valley?
July highs average about 79 degrees, and January highs near 45 with lows near 23. That works out to about 177 pleasant days a year, more than 88% of cities.
Is Apple Valley good for families?
Schools beat 47% of cities, crime safety beats 35%, and childcare runs $1,252 a month.
Compare Apple Valley with other cities
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Apple Valley. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Apple Valley 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.
Apple Valley detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Apple Valley: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Apple Valley: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Apple Valley: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Apple Valley: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Apple Valley 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.