Best PlacesSolano County, CA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Solano County, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Distance to the water drives a lot of the difference between one part and the next. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Solano County ranks 1,083rd of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. The coast is about 43 minutes away. Its strengths are big-city access and few empty homes. The cost shows up in childcare costs, civic engagement, and noise.
The best neighborhoods in Solano County
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 Solano County
The parts of Solano County, ranked by the BestNeighborhood standard score across every neighborhood, highest scoring first. Each note says how that part differs from the rest of the county.
Vacaville & Dixon
Crime runs lower, more households have young kids, and local pay stretches further.
Rio Vista & Travis AFB
It is quieter, though heat risk is higher.
Vallejo
Disaster risk is higher.
Fairfield & Suisun City
Fewer adults hold degrees and incomes run lower.
Solano County shows why a single number is not enough. Some neighborhoods score in the bottom 3% of the country and others in the top 6%. Pick the area first, then the home.
Solano County's strengths and weaknesses
Solano County lands in the middle because its strengths and weaknesses roughly balance. Big-city access is the standout, in the top 2% of counties. Few empty homes and biking follow.
The one real hole is childcare costs, near the bottom of the country. Civic engagement and noise also cost it ground. Cost swings more from one part of Solano County to another than it does between Solano County and its neighbors, which the map below shows.
Where Solano County ranks high
- Big-city accessBetter than 98% of counties
- Low vacancyBetter than 97% of counties
- BikingBetter than 96% of counties
- Household income$109,051 median, better than 95% of counties
- Nice weatherabout 158 pleasant days a year, better than 94% of counties
Where Solano County ranks low
- Cheap childcare$1,462 a month, better than only 3% of counties
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 6% of counties
- QuietBetter than only 6% of counties
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 6% of counties
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 11% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Solano County
A household needs to earn about $159,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Solano County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $109,051, 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 Solano County's effective rate of 0.76%, 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 Solano County
Solano County's age mix sits close to the national median, 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 Solano County.
Who works in Solano County, and how
Work in Solano County centers on health care & social and retail trade. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 82%
- Work from home 12%
- Transit, walk, or bike 5%
Life in Solano County
Solano County has fewer places to eat and drink per resident than most counties and less late-night activity than most counties. The coast is about 43 minutes away. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Solano County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Solano County growing, and who is moving in?
Solano County has grown about 6% over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from San Francisco, CA.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Solano County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Solano County, month by month
Solano County sees roughly 158 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 81 degrees. January highs sit near 61, with lows near 38. The comfortable stretch runs April through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 61° | 49° | 38° |
| April | 71° | 56° | 42° |
| July | 81° | 65° | 53° |
| October | 79° | 61° | 46° |
Flying in and out of Solano County
San Francisco Bay Oakland International sits about 37 miles away. It is a medium hub and boarded 4.5 million passengers in 2025, with 64 nonstop destinations.
The best schools in and around Solano County
Schools across Solano County average a C, better than 38% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Kairos PublicB · 46% proficient
- Dixon Montessori CharterB− · 43% proficient
Top middle schools
- Mare Island Technology AcademyB− · 40% proficient
- John Knight MiddleD · 23% proficient
- Winters MiddleD− · 15% proficient
Top high schools
- Davis Senior HighA+ · 89% proficient
- Benicia HighA · 75% proficient
- Public Safety AcademyB+ · 55% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Solano County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Solano County 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 Solano County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who Solano County suits
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 12% already work from home.
Common questions about living in Solano County
Is Solano County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Solano County ranks 1,083rd of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on big-city access, few empty homes, and biking, and lowest on childcare costs and civic engagement. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Solano County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $612,230. The overall cost of living runs about 23% above the national average. Set against a $109,051 median income, cost of living beats 66% of counties.
Is Solano County safe?
Solano County is safer than 25% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $465 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Solano County?
July highs average about 81 degrees, and January highs near 61 with lows near 38. That works out to about 158 pleasant days a year, more than 94% of counties.
What are the best neighborhoods in Solano County?
Using the default rankings, the highest-scoring areas are Vacaville & Dixon, Rio Vista & Travis AFB, and Vallejo. The ranked list and the re-weightable map above let you re-sort them for your own priorities.
Is Solano County good for families?
Schools beat 38% of counties, crime safety beats 25%, and childcare runs $1,462 a month.
Is Solano County good for remote workers?
Cost of living against local pay beats 66% of counties, and the fastest advertised internet here beats 79% of counties. About 12% of workers already work from home.
Compare Solano County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Solano County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Solano County 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.
Solano County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Solano County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Solano County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Solano County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Solano County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Solano County 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.
- U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program: population growth and net migration behind the population-change section.
- 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.