Best PlacesCalexico, CA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Calexico, 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.
Calexico ranks 2,095th of 2,098 U.S. cities on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on the weather by a wide margin, and a weak job market ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Calexico
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.
Calexico's strengths and weaknesses
Where Calexico ranks high
- Nice weatherabout 191 pleasant days a year, better than 91% of cities
- WalkabilityBetter than 89% of cities
- Cheap childcare$898 a month, better than 69% of cities
- QuietBetter than 60% of cities
- Low property taxBetter than 52% of cities
Where Calexico ranks low
- Local economyBetter than only 1% of cities
- Heat safetyBetter than only 2% of cities
- Internet speedBetter than only 2% of cities
- Tree shadeBetter than only 2% of cities
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 3% of cities
What it costs to buy a home in Calexico
A household needs to earn about $83,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Calexico home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $61,996, 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 Calexico's effective rate of 0.84%, 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 Calexico
Calexico runs younger than the country, 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 Calexico.
Who works in Calexico, and how
Work in Calexico centers on health care & social and retail trade. Unemployment runs well above the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 85%
- Work from home 9%
- Transit, walk, or bike 6%
Life in Calexico
Calexico has more restaurants and bars per resident than 98% of cities and more parkland per resident than 91% of cities. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Calexico and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Calexico, month by month
Calexico sees roughly 191 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 111 degrees. January highs sit near 71, with lows near 41. The comfortable stretch runs November through April.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 71° | 55° | 41° |
| April | 91° | 73° | 56° |
| July | 111° | 95° | 80° |
| October | 93° | 76° | 60° |
Flying in and out of Calexico
The nearest airport, Imperial County, is about 12 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is San Diego International, about 99 miles away.
The best schools in and around Calexico
Schools across Calexico average a D, better than 3% of cities.
Top elementary schools
- Mccabe ElementaryB− · 43% proficient
- Mulberry ElementaryC+ · 38% proficient
- Magnolia Union ElementaryC+ · 37% proficient
Top middle schools
- Frank M. Wright MiddleC · 33% proficient
- Heber ElementaryD+ · 25% proficient
- Bill E. Young Jr. MiddleD− · 16% proficient
Top high schools
- Southwest HighB− · 44% proficient
- Central Union HighB− · 42% proficient
- Imperial HighC+ · 38% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Calexico school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Calexico 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 Calexico against the other 2,097 cities.
Who Calexico suits
Common questions about living in Calexico
Is Calexico a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Calexico ranks 2,095th of 2,098 cities. It scores highest on the weather, walkability, and affordable childcare, and lowest on a weak job market and summer heat. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Calexico expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $316,167. The overall cost of living runs about 4% below the national average. Set against a $61,996 median income, cost of living beats 4% of cities.
Is Calexico safe?
Calexico is safer than 11% of cities. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $557 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Calexico?
July highs average about 111 degrees, and January highs near 71 with lows near 41. That works out to about 191 pleasant days a year, more than 91% of cities.
Is Calexico good for families?
Schools beat 3% of cities, crime safety beats 11%, and childcare runs $898 a month.
Compare Calexico with other cities
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Calexico. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Calexico 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.
Calexico detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Calexico: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Calexico: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Calexico: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Calexico: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Calexico 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.