Best PlacesModoc County, CA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Modoc 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.
Modoc County ranks 2,834th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on clean air by a wide margin, and empty homes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Modoc 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.
Modoc County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Modoc County ranks high
- Air qualityBetter than 95% of counties
- TransitBetter than 82% of counties
- Nice weatherabout 122 pleasant days a year, better than 76% of counties
- QuietBetter than 66% of counties
- Internet speedBetter than 62% of counties
Where Modoc County ranks low
- Low vacancyBetter than only 6% of counties
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 6% of counties
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 6% of counties
- School gradeD+, better than only 10% of counties
- Big-city accessBetter than only 13% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Modoc County
A household needs to earn about $58,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Modoc County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $60,707, 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 Modoc County's effective rate of 0.69%, 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 Modoc County
Modoc County runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Modoc County.
Who works in Modoc County, and how
Work in Modoc County centers on health care & social and public administration. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 76%
- Work from home 13%
- Transit, walk, or bike 11%
Life in Modoc County
Modoc County has more restaurants and bars per resident than 84% of counties. That concentrates in some parts of Modoc County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Modoc County growing, and who is moving in?
Modoc County has lost about 6% of its population over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from El Centro, CA.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Modoc County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Modoc County, month by month
Modoc County sees roughly 122 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 93 degrees. January highs sit near 45, with lows near 21. The comfortable stretch runs June through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 45° | 32° | 21° |
| April | 63° | 46° | 29° |
| July | 93° | 72° | 47° |
| October | 68° | 47° | 28° |
Flying in and out of Modoc County
The nearest airport, Redding Regional, is about 111 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Sacramento International, about 202 miles away.
The best schools in and around Modoc County
Schools across Modoc County average a D+, better than 10% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Surprise Valley ElementaryC · 35% proficient
- Fall River ElementaryC− · 30% proficient
- Alturas ElementaryD+ · 25% proficient
Top middle schools
- High Desert Community DayD+ · 25% proficient
- Modoc MiddleD · 20% proficient
Top high schools
- Surprise Valley HighB− · 42% proficient
- Fall River Junior-senior HighC+ · 37% proficient
- Tulelake HighD · 20% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Modoc County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Modoc 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 Modoc County against the other 3,143 counties.
Common questions about living in Modoc County
Is Modoc County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Modoc County ranks 2,834th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on clean air, transit, and the weather, and lowest on empty homes and disaster risk. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Modoc County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $224,021. The overall cost of living runs about 4% below the national average. Set against a $60,707 median income, cost of living beats 13% of counties.
Is Modoc County safe?
Modoc County is safer than 15% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $545 per resident a year.
Compare Modoc County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Modoc County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Modoc 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.
Modoc County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Modoc County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Modoc County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Modoc County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Modoc County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Modoc 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.