Best PlacesEtna, CA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Etna, 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.
Etna ranks 34,746th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on walkability by a wide margin, and disaster risk is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Etna
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.
Etna's strengths and weaknesses
Where Etna ranks high
- WalkabilityBetter than 96% of towns
- BikingBetter than 95% of towns
- TransitBetter than 90% of towns
- Nice weatherabout 143 pleasant days a year, better than 90% of towns
- Short commute21.0 minutes each way, better than 84% of towns
Where Etna ranks low
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 4% of towns
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 8% of towns
- Big-city accessBetter than only 10% of towns
- Heat safetyBetter than only 10% of towns
- Cheap childcare$1,110 a month, better than only 16% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Etna
A household needs to earn about $69,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Etna home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $62,085; the gap is small, which keeps homes within reach of local pay.
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 Etna's effective rate of 0.69%, 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 Etna
Etna 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 Etna.
Who works in Etna, and how
Work in Etna centers on public administration and education. Unemployment runs well above the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 77%
- Work from home 7%
- Transit, walk, or bike 16%
Life in Etna
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Etna.
What the weather is like in Etna, month by month
Etna sees roughly 143 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 97 degrees. January highs sit near 49, with lows near 26. The comfortable stretch runs May, June, August, and September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 49° | 37° | 26° |
| April | 68° | 50° | 33° |
| July | 97° | 77° | 55° |
| October | 72° | 53° | 35° |
Flying in and out of Etna
The nearest airport, Rogue Valley International/Medford, is about 63 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Sacramento International, about 203 miles away.
The best schools in and around Etna
Schools across Etna average a B−, better than 54% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Fort Jones ElementaryB · 48% proficient
- Butteville ElementaryB− · 43% proficient
- Etna ElementaryC− · 28% proficient
Top middle schools
- Scott Valley Junior HighB · 45% proficient
Top high schools
- Scott River HighB · 50% proficient
- Etna Union HighC+ · 40% proficient
- Weed HighC− · 26% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Etna school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Etna 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 Etna against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Etna
Is Etna a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Etna ranks 34,746th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on walkability, biking, and transit, and lowest on disaster risk and taxes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Etna expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $266,278. The overall cost of living runs about 0% below the national average. Set against a $62,085 median income, cost of living beats 18% of towns.
Is Etna safe?
Etna is safer than 16% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $520 per resident a year.
Compare Etna with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Etna. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Etna 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.
Etna detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Etna: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Etna: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Etna: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Etna: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Etna 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.