Best PlacesChico, TX Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Chico, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. This page is for people who live here or already know they want to. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Chico ranks 21,734th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on a strong job market by a wide margin, and thin health care access ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Chico
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.
Chico's strengths and weaknesses
Where Chico ranks high
- Local economyBetter than 93% of towns
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 92% of towns
- Nice weatherabout 145 pleasant days a year, better than 91% of towns
- WalkabilityBetter than 86% of towns
- Big-city accessBetter than 82% of towns
Where Chico ranks low
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 10% of towns
- Heat safetyBetter than only 12% of towns
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 19% of towns
- Internet speedBetter than only 20% of towns
- Air qualityBetter than only 22% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Chico
A household needs to earn about $74,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Chico home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $88,790, so a typical household can afford the median home outright.
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 Chico's effective rate of 0.91%, 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 Chico
Chico's age mix sits close to the national median.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Chico.
Who works in Chico, and how
Work in Chico centers on education and retail trade. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 76%
- Work from home 22%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in Chico
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Chico.
What the weather is like in Chico, month by month
Chico sees roughly 145 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 97 degrees. January highs sit near 58, with lows near 33. The comfortable stretch runs March through May, October, and November.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 58° | 44° | 33° |
| April | 76° | 64° | 52° |
| July | 97° | 84° | 73° |
| October | 80° | 66° | 54° |
Flying in and out of Chico
Dallas-Fort Worth International sits about 53 miles away. It is a large hub and boarded 41.3 million passengers in 2025, with 289 nonstop destinations.
The best schools in and around Chico
Schools across Chico average a C+, better than 48% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Jacksboro ElC · 35% proficient
- Chico ElC · 32% proficient
- Bridgeport IntC− · 30% proficient
Top middle schools
- Bridgeport MiddleB+ · 49% proficient
- Jacksboro MiddleB · 43% proficient
- Chico MiddleC · 32% proficient
Top high schools
- Jacksboro H SB+ · 57% proficient
- Bridgeport H SB− · 43% proficient
- Chico H SC+ · 40% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Chico school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Chico 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 Chico against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Chico
Is Chico a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Chico ranks 21,734th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on a strong job market, low taxes, and the weather, and lowest on thin health care access and summer heat. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Chico expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $279,823. The overall cost of living runs about 3% below the national average. Set against a $88,790 median income, cost of living beats 62% of towns.
Is Chico safe?
Chico is safer than 33% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $434 per resident a year.
Compare Chico with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Chico. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Chico 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.
Chico detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Chico: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Chico: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Chico: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Chico: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Chico 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.