Best PlacesRidgecrest, CA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Ridgecrest, 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.
Ridgecrest ranks 1,258th of 2,098 U.S. cities on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on a stable housing market by a wide margin, and tree cover ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Ridgecrest
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.
Ridgecrest's strengths and weaknesses
Where Ridgecrest ranks high
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 99% of cities
- Short commute16.9 minutes each way, better than 96% of cities
- QuietBetter than 88% of cities
- Nice weatherabout 169 pleasant days a year, better than 87% of cities
- Cell coverageBetter than 86% of cities
Where Ridgecrest ranks low
- Tree shadeBetter than only 1% of cities
- Air qualityBetter than only 9% of cities
- Heat safetyBetter than only 10% of cities
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 14% of cities
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 18% of cities
What it costs to buy a home in Ridgecrest
A household needs to earn about $68,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Ridgecrest home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $88,979, 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 Ridgecrest's effective rate of 0.91%, 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 7 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Ridgecrest
Ridgecrest runs younger than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Ridgecrest.
Who works in Ridgecrest, and how
Work in Ridgecrest centers on public administration and health care & social. Unemployment runs well above the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 85%
- Work from home 11%
- Transit, walk, or bike 5%
Life in Ridgecrest
Ridgecrest has more restaurants and bars per resident than 65% of cities and more parkland per resident than 84% of cities. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Ridgecrest and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Ridgecrest, month by month
Ridgecrest sees roughly 169 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 Ridgecrest
The nearest airport, Meadows Field, is about 79 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Bob Hope, about 106 miles away.
The best schools in and around Ridgecrest
Schools across Ridgecrest average a C, better than 27% of cities.
Top elementary schools
- Las Flores ElementaryC+ · 36% proficient
- Richmond ElementaryC · 33% proficient
- Gateway ElementaryD+ · 25% proficient
Top middle schools
- Murray MiddleC− · 29% proficient
- James Monroe MiddleD · 20% proficient
Top high schools
- Burroughs HighB · 47% proficient
- Trona HighD− · 15% proficient
- Mesquite Continuation HighD− · 14% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Ridgecrest school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Ridgecrest 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 Ridgecrest against the other 2,097 cities.
Who Ridgecrest suits
Common questions about living in Ridgecrest
Is Ridgecrest a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Ridgecrest ranks 1,258th of 2,098 cities. It scores highest on a stable housing market, short commutes, and quiet, and lowest on tree cover and air quality. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Ridgecrest expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $256,113. The overall cost of living runs about 3% below the national average. Set against a $88,979 median income, cost of living beats 48% of cities.
Is Ridgecrest safe?
Ridgecrest is safer than 34% of cities. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $389 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Ridgecrest?
July highs average about 108 degrees, and January highs near 63 with lows near 31. That works out to about 169 pleasant days a year, more than 87% of cities.
Is Ridgecrest good for families?
Schools beat 27% of cities, crime safety beats 34%, and childcare runs $1,173 a month.
Compare Ridgecrest with other cities
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Ridgecrest. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Ridgecrest 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.
Ridgecrest detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Ridgecrest: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Ridgecrest: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Ridgecrest: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Ridgecrest: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Ridgecrest 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.