Best PlacesNorth Highlands, CA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around North Highlands, 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.
North Highlands ranks 1,893rd of 2,098 U.S. cities on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on transit by a wide margin, and crime is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in North Highlands
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.
North Highlands' strengths and weaknesses
Where North Highlands ranks high
- TransitBetter than 94% of cities
- WalkabilityBetter than 85% of cities
- Nice weatherabout 150 pleasant days a year, better than 83% of cities
- Cell coverageBetter than 82% of cities
- Low property taxBetter than 81% of cities
Where North Highlands ranks low
- Crime safetyBetter than only 2% of cities
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 3% of cities
- QuietBetter than only 5% of cities
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 5% of cities
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 6% of cities
What it costs to buy a home in North Highlands
A household needs to earn about $98,000 a year to comfortably buy the median North Highlands home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $68,215, 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 North Highlands' effective rate of 0.64%, 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 North Highlands
North Highlands 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 North Highlands.
Who works in North Highlands, and how
Work in North Highlands centers on health care & social and retail trade. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 83%
- Work from home 13%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in North Highlands
North Highlands has more restaurants and bars per resident than 67% of cities and more parkland per resident than 76% of cities. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of North Highlands and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in North Highlands, month by month
North Highlands sees roughly 150 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 97 degrees. January highs sit near 58, with lows near 41. The comfortable stretch runs April through June, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 58° | 48° | 41° |
| April | 75° | 60° | 49° |
| July | 97° | 78° | 63° |
| October | 80° | 65° | 52° |
Flying in and out of North Highlands
Sacramento International sits about 12 miles away. It is a medium hub and boarded 6.8 million passengers in 2025, with 85 nonstop destinations.
The best schools in and around North Highlands
Schools across North Highlands average a C, better than 38% of cities.
Top elementary schools
- Charles Peck ElementaryD+ · 25% proficient
Top middle schools
- Will Rogers MiddleD+ · 25% proficient
Top high schools
- Mira Loma HighA+ · 80% proficient
- La Entrada Continuation HighD+ · 25% proficient
- Pacific Career And Technology HighD · 18% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every North Highlands school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
North Highlands 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 North Highlands against the other 2,097 cities.
Who North Highlands suits
Common questions about living in North Highlands
Is North Highlands a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, North Highlands ranks 1,893rd of 2,098 cities. It scores highest on transit, walkability, and the weather, and lowest on crime and the cost of living against local pay. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is North Highlands expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $382,310. The overall cost of living runs about 12% above the national average. Set against a $68,215 median income, cost of living beats 3% of cities.
Is North Highlands safe?
North Highlands is safer than 2% of cities. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $709 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in North Highlands?
July highs average about 97 degrees, and January highs near 58 with lows near 41. That works out to about 150 pleasant days a year, more than 83% of cities.
Is North Highlands good for families?
Schools beat 38% of cities, crime safety beats 2%, and childcare runs $1,332 a month.
Compare North Highlands with other cities
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to North Highlands. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in North Highlands 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.
North Highlands detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for North Highlands: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in North Highlands: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of North Highlands: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in North Highlands: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
North Highlands 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.