Best PlacesPortar Ranch, Northridge, CA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Portar Ranch, Northridge, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Local pay runs high here, and housing takes the biggest bite out of it. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Portar Ranch, Northridge ranks 1,917th of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on a strong job market by a wide margin, and air quality ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Portar Ranch, Northridge
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.
Portar Ranch, Northridge's strengths and weaknesses
Where Portar Ranch, Northridge ranks high
- Local economyBetter than 96% of neighborhoods
- Household income$162,553 median, better than 94% of neighborhoods
- Big-city accessBetter than 91% of neighborhoods
- Nice weatherabout 224 pleasant days a year, better than 90% of neighborhoods
- Crime safetyBetter than 87% of neighborhoods
Where Portar Ranch, Northridge ranks low
- Air qualityBetter than only 2% of neighborhoods
- Cell coverageBetter than only 3% of neighborhoods
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 5% of neighborhoods
- TransitBetter than only 5% of neighborhoods
- Heat safetyBetter than only 7% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in Portar Ranch, Northridge
A household needs to earn about $299,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Portar Ranch, Northridge home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $162,553, 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 Portar Ranch, Northridge's effective rate of 0.75%, 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 Portar Ranch, Northridge
Portar Ranch, Northridge runs older 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 Portar Ranch, Northridge.
Who works in Portar Ranch, Northridge, and how
Work in Portar Ranch, Northridge centers on health care & social and professional & technical. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 69%
- Work from home 29%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in Portar Ranch, Northridge
Portar Ranch, Northridge has more parkland per resident than 92% of neighborhoods. The coast is about 23 minutes away. That concentrates in some parts of Portar Ranch, Northridge and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Portar Ranch, Northridge, month by month
Portar Ranch, Northridge sees roughly 224 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 95 degrees. January highs sit near 70, with lows near 46. The comfortable stretch runs October through June.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 70° | 57° | 46° |
| April | 79° | 64° | 52° |
| July | 95° | 78° | 65° |
| October | 88° | 71° | 58° |
Flying in and out of Portar Ranch, Northridge
Bob Hope sits about 13 miles away. It is a medium hub and boarded 3.1 million passengers in 2025, with 54 nonstop destinations.
The best schools in and around Portar Ranch, Northridge
Schools across Portar Ranch, Northridge average a B, better than 65% of neighborhoods.
Top high schools
- Early College Academy-la Trade Tech CollegeB · 50% proficient
- Valley Academy Of Arts And SciencesC+ · 35% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Portar Ranch, Northridge school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Portar Ranch, Northridge 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 Portar Ranch, Northridge against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Who Portar Ranch, Northridge suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 81% of neighborhoods and 29% already work from home.
Retirees
The weather beats 90% of neighborhoods and health care access beats 84%.
Common questions about living in Portar Ranch, Northridge
Is Portar Ranch, Northridge a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Portar Ranch, Northridge ranks 1,917th of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on a strong job market, high incomes, and big-city access, and lowest on air quality and cell coverage. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Portar Ranch, Northridge expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $1,152,943. The overall cost of living runs about 44% above the national average. Set against a $162,553 median income, cost of living beats 81% of neighborhoods.
Is Portar Ranch, Northridge safe?
Yes, Portar Ranch, Northridge is safer than 87% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $262 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Portar Ranch, Northridge?
July highs average about 95 degrees, and January highs near 70 with lows near 46. That works out to about 224 pleasant days a year, more than 90% of neighborhoods.
Is Portar Ranch, Northridge good for families?
Schools beat 65% of neighborhoods, crime safety beats 87%, and childcare runs $1,130 a month.
Compare Portar Ranch, Northridge with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Portar Ranch, Northridge. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Portar Ranch, Northridge 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.
Portar Ranch, Northridge detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Portar Ranch, Northridge: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Portar Ranch, Northridge: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Portar Ranch, Northridge: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Portar Ranch, Northridge: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Portar Ranch, Northridge 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.