Best PlacesLocke, CA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Locke, 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.
Locke ranks 47,752nd of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on big-city access by a wide margin, and civic engagement ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Locke
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.
Locke's strengths and weaknesses
Where Locke ranks high
- Big-city accessBetter than 95% of towns
- Nice weatherabout 156 pleasant days a year, better than 94% of towns
- Cell coverageBetter than 88% of towns
- Short commute25.4 minutes each way, better than 60% of towns
- Low vacancyBetter than 56% of towns
Where Locke ranks low
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 1% of towns
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 3% of towns
- Crime safetyBetter than only 5% of towns
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 5% of towns
- Local economyBetter than only 5% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Locke
A household needs to earn about $91,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Locke home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $58,277, 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 Locke's effective rate of 0.88%, 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 8 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Locke
Locke's age mix sits close to the national median.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Locke.
Who works in Locke, and how
Work in Locke centers on agriculture & forestry 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 70%
- Work from home 23%
- Transit, walk, or bike 7%
Life in Locke
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Locke.
What the weather is like in Locke, month by month
Locke sees roughly 156 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 96 degrees. January highs sit near 59, with lows near 39. The comfortable stretch runs April through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 59° | 49° | 39° |
| April | 76° | 60° | 46° |
| July | 96° | 75° | 59° |
| October | 82° | 64° | 49° |
Flying in and out of Locke
The nearest airport, Stockton Metro, is about 26 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Sacramento International, about 34 miles away.
The best schools in and around Locke
Schools across Locke average a C+, better than 54% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Franklin ElementaryB+ · 53% proficient
- New Hope ElementaryD · 18% proficient
Top middle schools
- Elizabeth Pinkerton MiddleA · 62% proficient
- Riverview MiddleF · 10% proficient
Top high schools
- Cosumnes Oaks HighA− · 66% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Locke school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Locke 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 Locke against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Locke
Is Locke a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Locke ranks 47,752nd of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on big-city access, the weather, and cell coverage, and lowest on civic engagement and education levels. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Locke expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $345,800. The overall cost of living runs about 13% above the national average. Set against a $58,277 median income, cost of living beats 9% of towns.
Is Locke safe?
Locke is safer than 5% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $747 per resident a year.
Compare Locke with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Locke. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Locke 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.
Locke detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Locke: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Locke: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Locke: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Locke: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Locke 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.