Best PlacesMendocino County, CA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Mendocino County, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Distance to the water drives a lot of the difference between one part and the next. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Mendocino County ranks 2,669th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on transit by a wide margin, and summer heat is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Mendocino 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.
The best areas in Mendocino County
The parts of Mendocino County, ranked by the BestNeighborhood standard score across every neighborhood, highest scoring first. Each note says how that part differs from the rest of the county.
Willits
Local pay stretches further, fewer homes sit empty, and incomes run higher.
Ukiah
More households have young kids, though tree cover is thinner.
Redwood Valley
Biking is worse and fewer adults hold degrees.
Fort Bragg
Health care is easier to reach, though heat risk is higher.
Covelo
It is quieter, though streets are more car-dependent.
Scores across Mendocino County run from about the 1st to the 74th percentile nationally. The map is where that becomes a choice of area.
Mendocino County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Mendocino County ranks high
- TransitBetter than 91% of counties
- BikingBetter than 87% of counties
- WalkabilityBetter than 81% of counties
- Nice weatherabout 123 pleasant days a year, better than 77% of counties
- Big-city accessBetter than 75% of counties
Where Mendocino County ranks low
- Heat safetyBetter than only 2% of counties
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 6% of counties
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 7% of counties
- Crime safetyBetter than only 8% of counties
- Local economyBetter than only 8% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Mendocino County
A household needs to earn about $138,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Mendocino County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $73,025, 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 Mendocino County's effective rate of 0.68%, 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 Mendocino County
Mendocino County runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Mendocino County.
Who works in Mendocino County, and how
Work in Mendocino County centers on health care & social and retail trade. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 79%
- Work from home 13%
- Transit, walk, or bike 8%
Life in Mendocino County
Mendocino County has more restaurants and bars per resident than 75% of counties and less parkland per resident than most counties. The coast is about 45 minutes away. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Mendocino County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Mendocino County growing, and who is moving in?
Mendocino County has grown about 2% over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from San Francisco, CA.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Mendocino County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Mendocino County, month by month
Mendocino County sees roughly 123 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 98 degrees. January highs sit near 60, with lows near 38. The comfortable stretch runs April through June and August through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 60° | 47° | 38° |
| April | 74° | 57° | 42° |
| July | 98° | 76° | 56° |
| October | 82° | 61° | 45° |
Flying in and out of Mendocino County
The nearest airport, Charles M Schulz/Sonoma County, is about 62 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Sacramento International, about 105 miles away.
The best schools in and around Mendocino County
Schools across Mendocino County average a C−, better than 21% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Tree Of Life CharterB · 50% proficient
- Dana Gray ElementaryB · 50% proficient
- Whale Gulch ElementaryC · 35% proficient
Top middle schools
- Eagle Peak MiddleD+ · 25% proficient
- Pomolita MiddleD+ · 25% proficient
- Terrace MiddleD− · 16% proficient
Top high schools
- Laytonville HighA · 75% proficient
- Mendocino HighB · 50% proficient
- Redwood Collegiate AcademyB · 48% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Mendocino County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Mendocino 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 Mendocino County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who Mendocino County suits
Common questions about living in Mendocino County
Is Mendocino County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Mendocino County ranks 2,669th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on transit, biking, 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 Mendocino County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $538,603. The overall cost of living runs about 17% above the national average. Set against a $73,025 median income, cost of living beats 10% of counties.
Is Mendocino County safe?
Mendocino County is safer than 8% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $615 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Mendocino County?
July highs average about 98 degrees, and January highs near 60 with lows near 38. That works out to about 123 pleasant days a year, more than 77% of counties.
What are the best neighborhoods in Mendocino County?
Using the default rankings, the highest-scoring areas are Willits, Ukiah, and Redwood Valley. The ranked list and the re-weightable map above let you re-sort them for your own priorities.
Compare Mendocino County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Mendocino County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Mendocino 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.
Mendocino County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Mendocino County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Mendocino County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Mendocino County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Mendocino County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Mendocino 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.