Best PlacesSmith River, CA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Smith River, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. The coast is close, and the measures below put a number on how close. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Smith River ranks 15,949th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on short commutes by a wide margin, and distance from a big city ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Smith River
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.
Smith River's strengths and weaknesses
Where Smith River ranks high
- Short commute15.3 minutes each way, better than 97% of towns
- Air qualityBetter than 96% of towns
- TransitBetter than 93% of towns
- Nice weatherabout 134 pleasant days a year, better than 87% of towns
- Household income$102,267 median, better than 86% of towns
Where Smith River ranks low
- Big-city accessBetter than only 7% of towns
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 8% of towns
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 9% of towns
- Local economyBetter than only 17% of towns
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 19% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Smith River
A household needs to earn about $91,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Smith River home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $102,267, 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 Smith River's effective rate of 0.56%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Who lives in Smith River
Smith River's age mix sits close to the national median.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Smith River.
Who works in Smith River, and how
Work in Smith River centers on public administration and health care & social. Unemployment is low, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 82%
- Work from home 14%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in Smith River
Smith River has more restaurants and bars per resident than 98% of towns. The coast is about 4 minutes away. That concentrates in some parts of Smith River and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Smith River, month by month
Smith River sees roughly 134 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 63 degrees. January highs sit near 56, with lows near 42. The comfortable stretch runs June through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 56° | 49° | 42° |
| April | 57° | 51° | 44° |
| July | 63° | 57° | 52° |
| October | 63° | 54° | 47° |
Flying in and out of Smith River
The nearest airport, Jack McNamara Field, is about 12 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Sacramento International, about 262 miles away.
The best schools in and around Smith River
Schools across Smith River average a C, better than 43% of towns.
Top high schools
- Del Norte HighC− · 30% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Smith River school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Smith River 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 Smith River against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Smith River
Is Smith River a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Smith River ranks 15,949th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on short commutes, clean air, and transit, and lowest on distance from a big city and taxes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Smith River expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $360,523. The overall cost of living runs about 13% above the national average. Set against a $102,267 median income, cost of living beats 58% of towns.
Is Smith River safe?
Smith River is safer than 43% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $328 per resident a year.
Compare Smith River with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Smith River. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Smith River 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.
Smith River detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Smith River: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Smith River: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Smith River: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Smith River: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Smith River 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.