Best PlacesOld Town, Eureka, CA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Old Town, Eureka, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. The coast is close, and the measures below put a number on how close. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Old Town, Eureka ranks 5,314th of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on low property taxes by a wide margin, and distance from a big city ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Old Town, Eureka
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.
Old Town, Eureka's strengths and weaknesses
Where Old Town, Eureka ranks high
- Low property taxBetter than 97% of neighborhoods
- Short commute18.1 minutes each way, better than 89% of neighborhoods
- Air qualityBetter than 88% of neighborhoods
- WalkabilityBetter than 86% of neighborhoods
- BikingBetter than 78% of neighborhoods
Where Old Town, Eureka ranks low
- Big-city accessBetter than only 1% of neighborhoods
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 1% of neighborhoods
- Household income$43,467 median, better than only 5% of neighborhoods
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 6% of neighborhoods
- Internet speedBetter than only 7% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in Old Town, Eureka
A household needs to earn about $91,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Old Town, Eureka home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $43,467, 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 Old Town, Eureka's effective rate of 0.41%, 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 Old Town, Eureka
Old Town, Eureka runs younger than the country, and households here run smaller than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Old Town, Eureka.
Who works in Old Town, Eureka, and how
Work in Old Town, Eureka centers on retail trade and public administration. Unemployment runs well above the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 73%
- Work from home 11%
- Transit, walk, or bike 16%
Life in Old Town, Eureka
Old Town, Eureka has more restaurants and bars per resident than 91% of neighborhoods. The coast is about 5 minutes away. That concentrates in some parts of Old Town, Eureka and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Old Town, Eureka, month by month
Old Town, Eureka sees roughly 129 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 64 degrees. January highs sit near 57, with lows near 40. The comfortable stretch runs June through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 57° | 49° | 40° |
| April | 58° | 50° | 42° |
| July | 64° | 57° | 52° |
| October | 64° | 54° | 44° |
Flying in and out of Old Town, Eureka
The nearest airport, California Redwood Coast- Humboldt County, is about 13 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Sacramento International, about 199 miles away.
The best schools in and around Old Town, Eureka
Schools across Old Town, Eureka average a C−, better than 24% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Washington ElementaryC · 33% proficient
- Grant ElementaryD · 18% proficient
- Lafayette ElementaryD− · 13% proficient
Top middle schools
- Catherine L. Zane MiddleD · 24% proficient
- Winship MiddleD · 23% proficient
Top high schools
- Eureka Senior HighC+ · 35% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Old Town, Eureka school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Old Town, Eureka 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 Old Town, Eureka against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in Old Town, Eureka
Is Old Town, Eureka a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Old Town, Eureka ranks 5,314th of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on low property taxes, short commutes, and clean air, and lowest on distance from a big city and disaster risk. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Old Town, Eureka expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $367,930. The overall cost of living runs about 0% below the national average. Set against a $43,467 median income, cost of living beats 6% of neighborhoods.
Is Old Town, Eureka safe?
Old Town, Eureka is safer than 10% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $961 per resident a year.
Compare Old Town, Eureka with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Old Town, Eureka. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Old Town, Eureka 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.
Old Town, Eureka detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Old Town, Eureka: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Old Town, Eureka: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Old Town, Eureka: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Old Town, Eureka: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Old Town, Eureka 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.