Best PlacesEl Dorado County, CA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in El Dorado County, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. The averages hide a wide spread here, so the area matters as much as the address. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
El Dorado County ranks 357th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. Paychecks stretch further here than almost anywhere else: the median household brings in $123,858, wages outrun the cost of living, and an educated workforce ranks near the top of the country. The main drawbacks are childcare costs, taxes, and air quality.
The best neighborhoods in El Dorado County
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.
The best areas in El Dorado County
The parts of El Dorado County, ranked by the BestNeighborhood standard score across every neighborhood, highest scoring first. Each note says how that part differs from the rest of the county.
El Dorado Hills, Cameron Park & Shingle Springs
Fewer homes sit empty, local pay stretches further, and incomes run higher.
Rescue
It is quieter, though biking is worse.
Cool
Tree cover is thicker, though commutes are longer.
Diamond Springs, Somerset & El Dorado
Homes cost less, though fewer adults hold degrees.
Placerville & Pollock Pines
Fewer households have young kids and prices have run up more.
South Lake Tahoe
Streets are more walkable, though crime runs higher.
Georgetown
Schools score lower and disaster risk is higher.
El Dorado County shows why a single number is not enough. Some neighborhoods score in the bottom 10% of the country and others in the top 2%. Pick the area first, then the home.
El Dorado County's strengths and weaknesses
El Dorado County ranks where it does because the parts of life that are hardest to change mostly work here. High incomes is the standout, in the top 2% of counties. Big-city access and the weather follow.
The one real hole is childcare costs, near the bottom of the country. Taxes and air quality also cost it ground. The measures below break that down, and the map shows how much of it holds street by street.
Where El Dorado County ranks high
- Household income$123,858 median, better than 98% of counties
- Big-city accessBetter than 92% of counties
- Nice weatherabout 152 pleasant days a year, better than 92% of counties
- Educational attainmentBetter than 92% of counties
- Health outlookBetter than 91% of counties
Where El Dorado County ranks low
- Cheap childcare$1,556 a month, better than only 2% of counties
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 6% of counties
- Air qualityBetter than only 15% of counties
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 16% of counties
- State infrastructureBetter than only 18% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in El Dorado County
A household needs to earn about $186,000 a year to comfortably buy the median El Dorado County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $123,858, 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 El Dorado County's effective rate of 0.71%, 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 El Dorado County
El Dorado County runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for El Dorado County.
Who works in El Dorado County, and how
Work in El Dorado County centers on health care & social and professional & technical. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 72%
- Work from home 22%
- Transit, walk, or bike 6%
Life in El Dorado County
El Dorado County has more restaurants and bars per resident than 72% of counties and less parkland per resident than most counties. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of El Dorado County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is El Dorado County growing, and who is moving in?
El Dorado County has grown about 5% over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from the rest of the Sacramento, CA metro.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving El Dorado County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in El Dorado County, month by month
El Dorado County sees roughly 152 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 91 degrees. January highs sit near 53, 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 | 53° | 46° | 41° |
| April | 65° | 55° | 47° |
| July | 91° | 80° | 70° |
| October | 73° | 64° | 57° |
Flying in and out of El Dorado County
Sacramento International sits about 45 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 El Dorado County
Schools across El Dorado County average a B−, better than 69% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Lakeview ElementaryA+ · 78% proficient
- Jackson ElementaryA+ · 75% proficient
- Latrobe ElementaryA+ · 75% proficient
Top middle schools
- Marina Village MiddleA · 64% proficient
- Miller's HillA · 62% proficient
- Pleasant Grove MiddleB · 46% proficient
Top high schools
- Pacific Crest AcademyA · 75% proficient
- North Tahoe HighA− · 62% proficient
- Oak Ridge HighA− · 61% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every El Dorado County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
El Dorado County 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 El Dorado County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who El Dorado County suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 90% of counties and 22% already work from home.
Retirees
The weather beats 92% of counties, health care access beats 82%, and it is quieter than 64%.
Common questions about living in El Dorado County
Is El Dorado County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, El Dorado County ranks 357th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on high incomes, big-city access, and the weather, and lowest on childcare costs and taxes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is El Dorado County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $719,149. The overall cost of living runs about 21% above the national average. Set against a $123,858 median income, cost of living beats 90% of counties.
Is El Dorado County safe?
Yes, El Dorado County is safer than 67% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $325 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in El Dorado County?
July highs average about 91 degrees, and January highs near 53 with lows near 41. That works out to about 152 pleasant days a year, more than 92% of counties.
What are the best neighborhoods in El Dorado County?
Using the default rankings, the highest-scoring areas are El Dorado Hills, Cameron Park & Shingle Springs, Rescue, and Cool. The ranked list and the re-weightable map above let you re-sort them for your own priorities.
Is El Dorado County good for families?
Schools beat 69% of counties, crime safety beats 67%, and childcare runs $1,556 a month.
Is El Dorado County good for remote workers?
Cost of living against local pay beats 90% of counties, though advertised internet speeds beat only 49% of counties. About 22% of workers already work from home.
Compare El Dorado County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to El Dorado County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in El Dorado County 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.
El Dorado County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for El Dorado County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in El Dorado County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of El Dorado County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in El Dorado County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
El Dorado County 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.
- U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program: population growth and net migration behind the population-change section.
- 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.