Best PlacesDobbins, CA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Dobbins, 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.
Dobbins ranks 43,730th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on the weather by a wide margin, and long commutes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Dobbins
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.
Dobbins' strengths and weaknesses
Where Dobbins ranks high
- Nice weatherabout 167 pleasant days a year, better than 96% of towns
- QuietBetter than 94% of towns
- Local economyBetter than 91% of towns
- Big-city accessBetter than 82% of towns
- Tree shadeBetter than 72% of towns
Where Dobbins ranks low
- Short commute46.7 minutes each way, better than only 1% of towns
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 8% of towns
- Internet speedBetter than only 10% of towns
- Air qualityBetter than only 10% of towns
- School gradeD+, better than only 12% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Dobbins
A household needs to earn about $102,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Dobbins home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $58,752, 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 Dobbins' effective rate of 0.90%, 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 Dobbins
Dobbins 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 Dobbins.
Who works in Dobbins, and how
Work in Dobbins centers on other services and construction. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 78%
- Work from home 17%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in Dobbins
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Dobbins.
What the weather is like in Dobbins, month by month
Dobbins sees roughly 167 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 90 degrees. January highs sit near 52, with lows near 39. The comfortable stretch runs May, June, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 52° | 45° | 39° |
| April | 64° | 54° | 47° |
| July | 90° | 80° | 71° |
| October | 72° | 63° | 56° |
Flying in and out of Dobbins
Sacramento International sits about 51 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 Dobbins
Schools across Dobbins average a D+, better than 12% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Yuba Feather ElementaryD · 20% proficient
- Dobbins ElementaryD− · 16% proficient
Top middle schools
- Foothill IntermediateD · 20% proficient
Top high schools
- Marysville HighC− · 30% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Dobbins school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Dobbins 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 Dobbins against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Dobbins
Is Dobbins a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Dobbins ranks 43,730th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on the weather, quiet, and a strong job market, and lowest on long commutes and taxes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Dobbins expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $383,724. The overall cost of living runs about 0% below the national average. Set against a $58,752 median income, cost of living beats 14% of towns.
Is Dobbins safe?
Dobbins is safer than 18% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $479 per resident a year.
Compare Dobbins with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Dobbins. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Dobbins 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.
Dobbins detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Dobbins: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Dobbins: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Dobbins: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Dobbins: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Dobbins 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.