Best PlacesMcSwain, CA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around McSwain, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Local pay runs high here, and housing takes the biggest bite out of it. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
McSwain ranks 1,762nd of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on a strong job market by a wide margin, and tree cover ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in McSwain
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.
McSwain's strengths and weaknesses
Where McSwain ranks high
- Local economyBetter than 99% of towns
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 99% of towns
- Household income$239,742 median, better than 99% of towns
- Low vacancyBetter than 98% of towns
- Educational attainmentBetter than 90% of towns
Where McSwain ranks low
- Tree shadeBetter than only 7% of towns
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 8% of towns
- Air qualityBetter than only 10% of towns
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 19% of towns
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 19% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in McSwain
A household needs to earn about $184,000 a year to comfortably buy the median McSwain home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $239,742, so a typical household can afford the median home outright.
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 McSwain's effective rate of 0.65%, 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 McSwain
McSwain runs younger than the country, 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 McSwain.
Who works in McSwain, and how
Work in McSwain centers on education and other services. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 92%
- Work from home 6%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in McSwain
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across McSwain.
What the weather is like in McSwain, month by month
McSwain sees roughly 139 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 100 degrees. January highs sit near 60, with lows near 37. The comfortable stretch runs April, May, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 60° | 48° | 37° |
| April | 77° | 61° | 45° |
| July | 100° | 81° | 62° |
| October | 83° | 65° | 48° |
Flying in and out of McSwain
The nearest airport, Merced Yosemite Regional, is about 4 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Norman Y Mineta San Jose International, about 74 miles away.
The best schools in and around McSwain
Schools across McSwain average a C+, better than 43% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Mcswain ElementaryC+ · 39% proficient
Top high schools
- Buhach Colony HighC− · 29% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every McSwain school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
McSwain 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 McSwain against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in McSwain
Is McSwain a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, McSwain ranks 1,762nd of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on a strong job market, what local pay buys, and high incomes, and lowest on tree cover and taxes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is McSwain expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $718,450. The overall cost of living runs about 1% above the national average. Set against a $239,742 median income, cost of living beats 100% of towns.
Is McSwain safe?
McSwain is safer than 38% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $364 per resident a year.
Compare McSwain with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to McSwain. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in McSwain 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.
McSwain detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for McSwain: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in McSwain: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of McSwain: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in McSwain: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
McSwain 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.