Best PlacesCentral Napa, Napa, CA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Central Napa, Napa, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. The coast is close, and the measures below put a number on how close. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Central Napa, Napa ranks 2,617th of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on biking by a wide margin, and disaster risk is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Central Napa, Napa
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.
Central Napa, Napa's strengths and weaknesses
Where Central Napa, Napa ranks high
- BikingBetter than 91% of neighborhoods
- Nice weatherabout 164 pleasant days a year, better than 81% of neighborhoods
- WalkabilityBetter than 80% of neighborhoods
- Household income$112,539 median, better than 76% of neighborhoods
- Low property taxBetter than 76% of neighborhoods
Where Central Napa, Napa ranks low
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 2% of neighborhoods
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 20% of neighborhoods
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 26% of neighborhoods
- State infrastructureBetter than only 26% of neighborhoods
- Cheap childcare$1,414 a month, better than only 26% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in Central Napa, Napa
A household needs to earn about $241,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Central Napa, Napa home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $112,539, 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 Central Napa, Napa'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 Central Napa, Napa
Central Napa, Napa runs younger than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Central Napa, Napa.
Who works in Central Napa, Napa, and how
Work in Central Napa, Napa centers on manufacturing and hospitality & food. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 75%
- Work from home 17%
- Transit, walk, or bike 8%
Life in Central Napa, Napa
Central Napa, Napa has more restaurants and bars per resident than 93% of neighborhoods. The coast is about 46 minutes away. That concentrates in some parts of Central Napa, Napa and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Central Napa, Napa, month by month
Central Napa, Napa sees roughly 164 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 81 degrees. January highs sit near 61, with lows near 38. The comfortable stretch runs April through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 61° | 49° | 38° |
| April | 71° | 56° | 42° |
| July | 81° | 65° | 53° |
| October | 79° | 61° | 46° |
Flying in and out of Central Napa, Napa
The nearest airport, Charles M Schulz/Sonoma County, is about 32 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is San Francisco Bay Oakland International, about 40 miles away.
Central Napa, Napa 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 Central Napa, Napa against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in Central Napa, Napa
Is Central Napa, Napa a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Central Napa, Napa ranks 2,617th of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on biking, the weather, and walkability, and lowest on disaster risk and taxes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Central Napa, Napa expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $938,749. The overall cost of living runs about 37% above the national average. Set against a $112,539 median income, cost of living beats 54% of neighborhoods.
Is Central Napa, Napa safe?
Central Napa, Napa is safer than 39% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $628 per resident a year.
Compare Central Napa, Napa with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Central Napa, Napa. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Central Napa, Napa 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.
Central Napa, Napa detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Central Napa, Napa: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Central Napa, Napa: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Central Napa, Napa: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Central Napa, Napa: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Central Napa, Napa 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.