Best PlacesInyo County, CA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Inyo County, 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.
Inyo County ranks 2,011th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on the weather by a wide margin, and summer heat is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Inyo 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.
Inyo County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Inyo County ranks high
- Nice weatherabout 164 pleasant days a year, better than 95% of counties
- Short commute15.9 minutes each way, better than 93% of counties
- WalkabilityBetter than 91% of counties
- BikingBetter than 84% of counties
- Health outlookBetter than 82% of counties
Where Inyo County ranks low
- Heat safetyBetter than only 2% of counties
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 6% of counties
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 8% of counties
- Cheap childcare$1,205 a month, better than only 9% of counties
- Tree shadeBetter than only 10% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Inyo County
A household needs to earn about $89,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Inyo County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $73,156, 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 Inyo County's effective rate of 0.60%, 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 Inyo County
Inyo County 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 Inyo County.
Who works in Inyo County, and how
Work in Inyo County centers on health care & social and public administration. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 80%
- Work from home 12%
- Transit, walk, or bike 8%
Life in Inyo County
Inyo County has more restaurants and bars per resident than 97% of counties and more parkland per resident than 85% of counties. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Inyo County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Inyo County growing, and who is moving in?
Inyo County has grown about 1% over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Los Angeles, CA.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Inyo County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Inyo County, month by month
Inyo County sees roughly 164 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 102 degrees. January highs sit near 57, with lows near 23. The comfortable stretch runs April, May, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 57° | 39° | 23° |
| April | 77° | 58° | 36° |
| July | 102° | 82° | 57° |
| October | 80° | 58° | 36° |
Flying in and out of Inyo County
The nearest airport, Bishop, is about 15 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Harry Reid International, about 189 miles away.
The best schools in and around Inyo County
Schools across Inyo County average a C−, better than 24% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Round Valley ElementaryA− · 58% proficient
- Lo-inyo ElementaryC · 30% proficient
- Bishop ElementaryC− · 30% proficient
Top middle schools
- Amargosa Valley Middle SchoolC · 32% proficient
- Murray MiddleC− · 29% proficient
- Beatty Middle SchoolC− · 29% proficient
Top high schools
- Burroughs HighB · 47% proficient
- Bishop Union HighC+ · 40% proficient
- Pahrump Valley High SchoolC− · 25% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Inyo County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Inyo 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 Inyo County against the other 3,143 counties.
Common questions about living in Inyo County
Is Inyo County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Inyo County ranks 2,011th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on the weather, short commutes, and walkability, and lowest on summer heat and taxes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Inyo County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $350,116. The overall cost of living runs about 12% above the national average. Set against a $73,156 median income, cost of living beats 17% of counties.
Is Inyo County safe?
Inyo County is safer than 15% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $543 per resident a year.
Compare Inyo County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Inyo County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Inyo 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.
Inyo County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Inyo County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Inyo County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Inyo County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Inyo County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Inyo 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.