Best PlacesSquaw Valley, CA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Squaw Valley, 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.
Squaw Valley ranks 44,602nd of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on quiet by a wide margin, and air quality ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Squaw Valley
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.
Squaw Valley's strengths and weaknesses
Where Squaw Valley ranks high
- QuietBetter than 93% of towns
- Internet speedBetter than 90% of towns
- Nice weatherabout 140 pleasant days a year, better than 89% of towns
- Big-city accessBetter than 78% of towns
- Health outlookBetter than 64% of towns
Where Squaw Valley ranks low
- Air qualityBetter than only 1% of towns
- Short commute52.5 minutes each way, better than only 1% of towns
- Heat safetyBetter than only 4% of towns
- Cheap childcare$1,386 a month, better than only 6% of towns
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 7% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Squaw Valley
A household needs to earn about $75,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Squaw Valley home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $61,719, 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 Squaw Valley's effective rate of 0.68%, 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 9 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Squaw Valley
Squaw Valley runs older 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 Squaw Valley.
Who works in Squaw Valley, and how
Work in Squaw Valley centers on retail trade and education. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 91%
- Work from home 4%
- Transit, walk, or bike 5%
Life in Squaw Valley
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Squaw Valley.
What the weather is like in Squaw Valley, month by month
Squaw Valley sees roughly 140 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 100 degrees. January highs sit near 60, with lows near 38. The comfortable stretch runs March through May, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 60° | 48° | 38° |
| April | 79° | 63° | 47° |
| July | 100° | 83° | 64° |
| October | 83° | 65° | 49° |
Flying in and out of Squaw Valley
The nearest airport, Fresno Yosemite International, is about 30 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Norman Y Mineta San Jose International, about 158 miles away.
The best schools in and around Squaw Valley
Schools across Squaw Valley average a C+, better than 46% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Dunlap ElementaryC+ · 38% proficient
- Palm ElementaryD+ · 25% proficient
- A. L. Conner ElementaryD · 20% proficient
Top middle schools
- Citrus MiddleD+ · 25% proficient
- El Monte MiddleD · 21% proficient
Top high schools
- Orange Cove HighB− · 43% proficient
- Reedley HighB− · 42% proficient
- Orosi HighC+ · 38% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Squaw Valley school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Squaw Valley 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 Squaw Valley against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Squaw Valley
Is Squaw Valley a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Squaw Valley ranks 44,602nd of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on quiet, fast internet, and the weather, and lowest on air quality and long commutes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Squaw Valley expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $292,386. The overall cost of living runs about 6% above the national average. Set against a $61,719 median income, cost of living beats 12% of towns.
Is Squaw Valley safe?
Squaw Valley is safer than 39% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $358 per resident a year.
Compare Squaw Valley with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Squaw Valley. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Squaw Valley 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.
Squaw Valley detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Squaw Valley: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Squaw Valley: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Squaw Valley: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Squaw Valley: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Squaw Valley 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.