Best PlacesRiver Gardens, Sacramento, CA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around River Gardens, Sacramento, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. This page is for people who live here or already know they want to. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
River Gardens, Sacramento ranks 3,560th of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on biking by a wide margin, and cell coverage ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in River Gardens, Sacramento
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.
River Gardens, Sacramento's strengths and weaknesses
Where River Gardens, Sacramento ranks high
- BikingBetter than 91% of neighborhoods
- Local economyBetter than 90% of neighborhoods
- Nice weatherabout 150 pleasant days a year, better than 75% of neighborhoods
- TransitBetter than 73% of neighborhoods
- Big-city accessBetter than 65% of neighborhoods
Where River Gardens, Sacramento ranks low
- Cell coverageBetter than only 7% of neighborhoods
- Low vacancyBetter than only 11% of neighborhoods
- QuietBetter than only 14% of neighborhoods
- Tree shadeBetter than only 14% of neighborhoods
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 17% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in River Gardens, Sacramento
A household needs to earn about $107,000 a year to comfortably buy the median River Gardens, Sacramento home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $87,158, 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 River Gardens, Sacramento's effective rate of 0.77%, 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 10 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in River Gardens, Sacramento
River Gardens, Sacramento 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 River Gardens, Sacramento.
Who works in River Gardens, Sacramento, and how
Work in River Gardens, Sacramento centers on retail trade and health care & social. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 82%
- Work from home 9%
- Transit, walk, or bike 9%
Life in River Gardens, Sacramento
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across River Gardens, Sacramento.
What the weather is like in River Gardens, Sacramento, month by month
River Gardens, Sacramento 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 River Gardens, Sacramento
Sacramento International sits about 8 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 River Gardens, Sacramento
Schools across River Gardens, Sacramento average a C, better than 43% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- American LakesD+ · 25% proficient
Top high schools
- Natomas HighD+ · 25% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every River Gardens, Sacramento school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
River Gardens, Sacramento 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 River Gardens, Sacramento against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in River Gardens, Sacramento
Is River Gardens, Sacramento a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, River Gardens, Sacramento ranks 3,560th of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on biking, a strong job market, and the weather, and lowest on cell coverage and empty homes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is River Gardens, Sacramento expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $410,512. The overall cost of living runs about 11% above the national average. Set against a $87,158 median income, cost of living beats 42% of neighborhoods.
Is River Gardens, Sacramento safe?
River Gardens, Sacramento is safer than 40% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $538 per resident a year.
Compare River Gardens, Sacramento with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to River Gardens, Sacramento. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in River Gardens, Sacramento 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.
River Gardens, Sacramento detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for River Gardens, Sacramento: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in River Gardens, Sacramento: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of River Gardens, Sacramento: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in River Gardens, Sacramento: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
River Gardens, Sacramento 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.