Best PlacesCitrus Heights, CA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Citrus Heights, 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.
Citrus Heights ranks 1,457th of 2,098 U.S. cities on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores best on transit, and crime is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Citrus Heights
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.
Citrus Heights' strengths and weaknesses
Where Citrus Heights ranks high
- TransitBetter than 83% of cities
- Nice weatherabout 150 pleasant days a year, better than 82% of cities
- BikingBetter than 81% of cities
- Disaster safetyBetter than 80% of cities
- Low vacancyBetter than 78% of cities
Where Citrus Heights ranks low
- Crime safetyBetter than only 13% of cities
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 14% of cities
- Heat safetyBetter than only 19% of cities
- Local economyBetter than only 21% of cities
- QuietBetter than only 22% of cities
What it costs to buy a home in Citrus Heights
A household needs to earn about $120,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Citrus Heights home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $87,502, 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 Citrus Heights' effective rate of 0.67%, 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 Citrus Heights
Citrus Heights'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 Citrus Heights.
Who works in Citrus Heights, and how
Work in Citrus Heights centers on retail trade and health care & social. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 77%
- Work from home 17%
- Transit, walk, or bike 6%
Life in Citrus Heights
Citrus Heights has more restaurants and bars per resident than 68% of cities and more parkland per resident than 86% of cities. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Citrus Heights and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Citrus Heights, month by month
Citrus Heights sees roughly 150 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 97 degrees. January highs sit near 58, with lows near 41. The comfortable stretch runs April through June, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 58° | 48° | 41° |
| April | 75° | 60° | 49° |
| July | 97° | 78° | 63° |
| October | 80° | 65° | 52° |
Flying in and out of Citrus Heights
Sacramento International sits about 16 miles away. It is a medium hub and boarded 6.8 million passengers in 2025, with 85 nonstop destinations.
The best schools in and around Citrus Heights
Schools across Citrus Heights average a C, better than 28% of cities.
Top elementary schools
- Carriage Drive ElementaryD+ · 25% proficient
- Charles Peck ElementaryD+ · 25% proficient
- Skycrest ElementaryD+ · 25% proficient
Top middle schools
- Warren T. Eich MiddleD+ · 25% proficient
- Andrew Carnegie MiddleD+ · 25% proficient
- Will Rogers MiddleD+ · 25% proficient
Top high schools
- Oakmont HighA− · 64% proficient
- El Camino Fundamental HighB− · 45% proficient
- Mesa Verde HighD · 23% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Citrus Heights school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Citrus Heights 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 Citrus Heights against the other 2,097 cities.
Who Citrus Heights suits
Common questions about living in Citrus Heights
Is Citrus Heights a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Citrus Heights ranks 1,457th of 2,098 cities. It scores highest on transit, the weather, and biking, and lowest on crime and taxes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Citrus Heights expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $467,899. The overall cost of living runs about 11% above the national average. Set against a $87,502 median income, cost of living beats 24% of cities.
Is Citrus Heights safe?
Citrus Heights is safer than 13% of cities. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $471 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Citrus Heights?
July highs average about 97 degrees, and January highs near 58 with lows near 41. That works out to about 150 pleasant days a year, more than 82% of cities.
Is Citrus Heights good for families?
Schools beat 28% of cities, crime safety beats 13%, and childcare runs $1,332 a month.
Compare Citrus Heights with other cities
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Citrus Heights. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Citrus Heights 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.
Citrus Heights detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Citrus Heights: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Citrus Heights: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Citrus Heights: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Citrus Heights: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Citrus Heights 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.