Best PlacesRiverbank, CA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Riverbank, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. The averages are not the whole story, and the strongest areas score well above them. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Riverbank ranks 1,303rd of 2,098 U.S. cities on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on few empty homes by a wide margin, and education levels rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Riverbank
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.
The best areas in Riverbank
The parts of Riverbank, ranked by the BestNeighborhood standard score across every neighborhood, highest scoring first.
Crossroads-Riverbank & Providence
River Heights
Kentucky Manor
Downtown Riverbank
Scores across Riverbank run from about the 8th to the 86th percentile nationally. The map is where that becomes a choice of area.
Riverbank's strengths and weaknesses
Where Riverbank ranks high
- Low vacancyBetter than 99% of cities
- Cell coverageBetter than 96% of cities
- Nice weatherabout 149 pleasant days a year, better than 82% of cities
- TransitBetter than 76% of cities
- WalkabilityBetter than 71% of cities
Where Riverbank ranks low
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 8% of cities
- Tree shadeBetter than only 9% of cities
- Local economyBetter than only 10% of cities
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 12% of cities
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 14% of cities
What it costs to buy a home in Riverbank
A household needs to earn about $125,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Riverbank home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $100,448, 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 Riverbank'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 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 Riverbank
Riverbank 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 Riverbank.
Who works in Riverbank, and how
Work in Riverbank centers on manufacturing and health care & social. Unemployment runs well above the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 88%
- Work from home 8%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in Riverbank
Riverbank has more restaurants and bars per resident than 70% of cities and more parkland per resident than 82% of cities. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Riverbank and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Riverbank, month by month
Riverbank sees roughly 149 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 98 degrees. January highs sit near 59, with lows near 39. The comfortable stretch runs March through May, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 59° | 49° | 39° |
| April | 77° | 62° | 48° |
| July | 98° | 81° | 63° |
| October | 82° | 65° | 51° |
Flying in and out of Riverbank
The nearest airport, Stockton Metro, is about 20 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Norman Y Mineta San Jose International, about 60 miles away.
The best schools in and around Riverbank
Schools across Riverbank average a C−, better than 15% of cities.
Top elementary schools
- Fair Oaks ElementaryC+ · 40% proficient
- Van Allen ElementaryC · 35% proficient
- Riverbank Language AcademyC · 34% proficient
Top middle schools
- El Portal MiddleC · 35% proficient
- Prescott Junior HighD+ · 27% proficient
- Oakdale Junior HighD+ · 25% proficient
Top high schools
- James C. Enochs HighB+ · 54% proficient
- Oakdale HighB · 50% proficient
- Escalon HighB− · 43% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Riverbank school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Riverbank 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 Riverbank against the other 2,097 cities.
Who Riverbank suits
Families
Schools land around the 15th percentile and crime safety beats 61%.
Common questions about living in Riverbank
Is Riverbank a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Riverbank ranks 1,303rd of 2,098 cities. It scores highest on few empty homes, cell coverage, and the weather, and lowest on education levels and tree cover. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Riverbank expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $480,955. The overall cost of living runs about 6% above the national average. Set against a $100,448 median income, cost of living beats 47% of cities.
Is Riverbank safe?
Yes, Riverbank is safer than 61% of cities. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $322 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Riverbank?
July highs average about 98 degrees, and January highs near 59 with lows near 39. That works out to about 149 pleasant days a year, more than 82% of cities.
What are the best neighborhoods in Riverbank?
Using the default rankings, the highest-scoring areas are Crossroads-Riverbank & Providence, River Heights, and Kentucky Manor. The ranked list and the re-weightable map above let you re-sort them for your own priorities.
Compare Riverbank with other cities
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Riverbank. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Riverbank 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.
Riverbank detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Riverbank: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Riverbank: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Riverbank: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Riverbank: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Riverbank 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.