Best PlacesChina Lake Acres, CA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around China Lake Acres, 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.
China Lake Acres ranks 23,744th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on the weather by a wide margin, and air quality ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in China Lake Acres
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.
China Lake Acres' strengths and weaknesses
Where China Lake Acres ranks high
- Nice weatherabout 170 pleasant days a year, better than 97% of towns
- Local economyBetter than 93% of towns
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 92% of towns
- TransitBetter than 91% of towns
- BikingBetter than 86% of towns
Where China Lake Acres ranks low
- Air qualityBetter than only 2% of towns
- Tree shadeBetter than only 2% of towns
- Heat safetyBetter than only 5% of towns
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 8% of towns
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 12% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in China Lake Acres
A household needs to earn about $46,000 a year to comfortably buy the median China Lake Acres home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $83,942, 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 China Lake Acres' effective rate of 1.03%, 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 4 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in China Lake Acres
China Lake Acres runs younger than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for China Lake Acres.
Who works in China Lake Acres, and how
Work in China Lake Acres centers on retail trade and professional & technical. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 79%
- Work from home 19%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in China Lake Acres
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across China Lake Acres.
What the weather is like in China Lake Acres, month by month
China Lake Acres sees roughly 170 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 108 degrees. January highs sit near 63, with lows near 31. The comfortable stretch runs March through May and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 63° | 46° | 31° |
| April | 83° | 66° | 47° |
| July | 108° | 92° | 72° |
| October | 86° | 67° | 49° |
Flying in and out of China Lake Acres
The nearest airport, Meadows Field, is about 74 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Bob Hope, about 105 miles away.
The best schools in and around China Lake Acres
Schools across China Lake Acres average a C, better than 29% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Inyokern ElementaryD− · 15% proficient
Top middle schools
- Murray MiddleC− · 29% proficient
Top high schools
- Burroughs HighB · 47% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every China Lake Acres school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
China Lake Acres 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 China Lake Acres against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in China Lake Acres
Is China Lake Acres a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, China Lake Acres ranks 23,744th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on the weather, a strong job market, and a stable housing market, 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 China Lake Acres expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $170,858. The overall cost of living runs about 1% below the national average. Set against a $83,942 median income, cost of living beats 59% of towns.
Is China Lake Acres safe?
China Lake Acres is safer than 32% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $392 per resident a year.
Compare China Lake Acres with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to China Lake Acres. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in China Lake Acres 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.
China Lake Acres detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for China Lake Acres: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in China Lake Acres: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of China Lake Acres: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in China Lake Acres: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
China Lake Acres 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.