Best PlacesOnyx, CA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Onyx, 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.
Onyx ranks 47,383rd of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on the weather by a wide margin, and summer heat is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Onyx
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.
Onyx's strengths and weaknesses
Where Onyx ranks high
- Nice weatherabout 173 pleasant days a year, better than 97% of towns
- QuietBetter than 97% of towns
- TransitBetter than 91% of towns
- Big-city accessBetter than 84% of towns
- BikingBetter than 69% of towns
Where Onyx ranks low
- Heat safetyBetter than only 1% of towns
- Air qualityBetter than only 1% of towns
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 3% of towns
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 3% of towns
- Household income$24,879 median, better than only 3% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Onyx
A household needs to earn about $76,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Onyx home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $24,879, 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 Onyx's effective rate of 0.71%, 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 Onyx
Onyx 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 Onyx.
Who works in Onyx, and how
Work in Onyx centers on health care & social and manufacturing. Unemployment runs well above the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 93%
- Work from home 5%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in Onyx
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Onyx.
What the weather is like in Onyx, month by month
Onyx sees roughly 173 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 108 degrees. January highs sit near 63, with lows near 31. The comfortable stretch runs March through May and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 63° | 46° | 31° |
| April | 83° | 66° | 47° |
| July | 108° | 92° | 72° |
| October | 86° | 67° | 49° |
Flying in and out of Onyx
The nearest airport, Meadows Field, is about 51 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Bob Hope, about 103 miles away.
The best schools in and around Onyx
Schools across Onyx average a C+, better than 60% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Inyokern ElementaryD− · 15% proficient
Top middle schools
- James Monroe MiddleD · 20% proficient
Top high schools
- Kern Valley HighA · 75% proficient
- Burroughs HighB · 47% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Onyx school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Onyx 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 Onyx against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Onyx
Is Onyx a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Onyx ranks 47,383rd of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on the weather, quiet, and transit, and lowest on summer heat and air quality. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Onyx expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $292,600. The overall cost of living runs about 2% below the national average. Set against a $24,879 median income, cost of living beats 3% of towns.
Is Onyx safe?
Onyx is safer than 7% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $652 per resident a year.
Compare Onyx with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Onyx. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Onyx 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.
Onyx detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Onyx: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Onyx: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Onyx: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Onyx: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Onyx 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.