Best PlacesHickman, CA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Hickman, 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.
Hickman ranks 33,963rd of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on transit by a wide margin, and a weak job market ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Hickman
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.
Hickman's strengths and weaknesses
Where Hickman ranks high
- TransitBetter than 94% of towns
- Nice weatherabout 147 pleasant days a year, better than 92% of towns
- Big-city accessBetter than 90% of towns
- Health outlookBetter than 82% of towns
- QuietBetter than 80% of towns
Where Hickman ranks low
- Local economyBetter than only 3% of towns
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 3% of towns
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 8% of towns
- Air qualityBetter than only 12% of towns
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 13% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Hickman
A household needs to earn about $144,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Hickman home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $78,717, 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 Hickman's effective rate of 0.62%, 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 Hickman
Hickman's age mix sits close to the national median, and households here run larger than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Hickman.
Who works in Hickman, and how
Work in Hickman centers on education and agriculture & forestry. Unemployment runs well above the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 86%
- Work from home 10%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in Hickman
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Hickman.
What the weather is like in Hickman, month by month
Hickman sees roughly 147 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 98 degrees. January highs sit near 59, with lows near 39. The comfortable stretch runs March through May, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 59° | 49° | 39° |
| April | 77° | 62° | 48° |
| July | 98° | 81° | 63° |
| October | 82° | 65° | 51° |
Flying in and out of Hickman
The nearest airport, Merced Yosemite Regional, is about 26 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Norman Y Mineta San Jose International, about 70 miles away.
The best schools in and around Hickman
Schools across Hickman average a D+, better than 16% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Hickman ElementaryB+ · 55% proficient
- Hickman CharterB · 49% proficient
- Sierra View ElementaryB · 48% proficient
Top middle schools
- Hickman MiddleB+ · 50% proficient
- Oakdale Junior HighD+ · 25% proficient
- Waterford JuniorD · 21% proficient
Top high schools
- Oakdale HighB · 50% proficient
- El Capitan HighC · 33% proficient
- Buhach Colony HighC− · 29% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Hickman school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Hickman 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 Hickman against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Hickman
Is Hickman a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Hickman ranks 33,963rd of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on transit, the weather, and big-city access, and lowest on a weak job market and civic engagement. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Hickman expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $565,660. The overall cost of living runs about 13% above the national average. Set against a $78,717 median income, cost of living beats 22% of towns.
Is Hickman safe?
Hickman is safer than 32% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $386 per resident a year.
Compare Hickman with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Hickman. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Hickman 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.
Hickman detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Hickman: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Hickman: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Hickman: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Hickman: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Hickman 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.