Best PlacesHomestead Valley, CA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Homestead Valley, 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.
Homestead Valley ranks 48,906th 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 Homestead Valley
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.
Homestead Valley's strengths and weaknesses
Where Homestead Valley ranks high
- Nice weatherabout 188 pleasant days a year, better than 99% of towns
- QuietBetter than 91% of towns
- Big-city accessBetter than 90% of towns
- TransitBetter than 89% of towns
- Cell coverageBetter than 80% of towns
Where Homestead Valley ranks low
- Air qualityBetter than only 1% of towns
- Heat safetyBetter than only 1% of towns
- Tree shadeBetter than only 2% of towns
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 3% of towns
- Crime safetyBetter than only 4% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Homestead Valley
A household needs to earn about $67,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Homestead Valley home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $44,604, 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 Homestead Valley's effective rate of 0.70%, 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 10 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Homestead Valley
Homestead Valley 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 Homestead Valley.
Who works in Homestead Valley, and how
Work in Homestead Valley centers on health care & social and construction. Unemployment runs well above the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 51%
- Work from home 36%
- Transit, walk, or bike 13%
Life in Homestead Valley
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Homestead Valley.
What the weather is like in Homestead Valley, month by month
Homestead Valley sees roughly 188 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 107 degrees. January highs sit near 65, with lows near 38. The comfortable stretch runs March, April, October, and November.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 65° | 50° | 38° |
| April | 84° | 69° | 53° |
| July | 107° | 93° | 78° |
| October | 87° | 70° | 56° |
Flying in and out of Homestead Valley
The nearest airport, Palm Springs International, is about 30 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Ontario International, about 69 miles away.
The best schools in and around Homestead Valley
Schools across Homestead Valley average a C+, better than 54% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Landers ElementaryA+ · 75% proficient
- Yucca Mesa ElementaryD+ · 25% proficient
Top middle schools
- La Contenta MiddleD · 19% proficient
Top high schools
- Yucca Valley HighC · 32% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Homestead Valley school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Homestead Valley 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 Homestead Valley against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Homestead Valley
Is Homestead Valley a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Homestead Valley ranks 48,906th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on the weather, quiet, and big-city access, and lowest on air quality and summer heat. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Homestead Valley expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $258,498. The overall cost of living runs about 14% above the national average. Set against a $44,604 median income, cost of living beats 3% of towns.
Is Homestead Valley safe?
Homestead Valley is safer than 4% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $773 per resident a year.
Compare Homestead Valley with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Homestead Valley. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Homestead Valley 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.
Homestead Valley detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Homestead Valley: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Homestead Valley: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Homestead Valley: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Homestead Valley: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Homestead Valley 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.