Best PlacesDarwin, CA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Darwin, 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.
Darwin ranks 49,106th 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 Darwin
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.
Darwin's strengths and weaknesses
Where Darwin ranks high
- Nice weatherabout 185 pleasant days a year, better than 98% of towns
- QuietBetter than 97% of towns
- BikingBetter than 70% of towns
- Health outlookBetter than 70% of towns
- Short commute24.2 minutes each way, better than 68% of towns
Where Darwin ranks low
- Air qualityBetter than only 1% of towns
- Cell coverageBetter than only 1% of towns
- Heat safetyBetter than only 1% of towns
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 3% of towns
- Crime safetyBetter than only 4% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Darwin
A household needs to earn about $29,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Darwin home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $51,491, 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 Darwin's effective rate of 0.75%, 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 3 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Darwin
Darwin runs older than the country, and households here run smaller than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Darwin.
Who works in Darwin, and how
Work in Darwin centers on education and public administration. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 82%
- Work from home 9%
- Transit, walk, or bike 8%
Life in Darwin
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Darwin.
What the weather is like in Darwin, month by month
Darwin sees roughly 185 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 117 degrees. January highs sit near 66, with lows near 44. The comfortable stretch runs November through March.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 66° | 55° | 44° |
| April | 91° | 79° | 66° |
| July | 117° | 104° | 90° |
| October | 91° | 78° | 65° |
Flying in and out of Darwin
The nearest airport, Bishop, is about 87 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Harry Reid International, about 135 miles away.
The best schools in and around Darwin
Schools across Darwin average a C−, better than 19% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Lo-inyo ElementaryC · 30% proficient
- Trona ElementaryD− · 13% proficient
Top high schools
- Lone Pine HighD+ · 24% proficient
- Trona HighD− · 15% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Darwin school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Darwin 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 Darwin against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Darwin
Is Darwin a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Darwin ranks 49,106th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on the weather, quiet, and biking, and lowest on air quality and cell coverage. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Darwin expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $109,900. The overall cost of living runs about 11% above the national average. Set against a $51,491 median income, cost of living beats 6% of towns.
Is Darwin safe?
Darwin is safer than 4% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $751 per resident a year.
Compare Darwin with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Darwin. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Darwin 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.
Darwin detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Darwin: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Darwin: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Darwin: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Darwin: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Darwin 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.