Best PlacesTopaz Lake, NV Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Topaz Lake, 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.
Topaz Lake ranks 34,612th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on state infrastructure by a wide margin, and biking ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Topaz Lake
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.
Topaz Lake's strengths and weaknesses
Where Topaz Lake ranks high
- State infrastructureBetter than 98% of towns
- QuietBetter than 97% of towns
- State fiscal healthBetter than 92% of towns
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 90% of towns
- Low property taxBetter than 89% of towns
Where Topaz Lake ranks low
- BikingBetter than only 3% of towns
- Nice weatherabout 57 pleasant days a year, better than only 4% of towns
- Air qualityBetter than only 6% of towns
- Internet speedBetter than only 7% of towns
- Short commute37.8 minutes each way, better than only 8% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Topaz Lake
A household needs to earn about $87,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Topaz Lake home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $71,050, 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 Topaz Lake's effective rate of 0.39%, 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 8 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Topaz Lake
Topaz Lake runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Topaz Lake.
Who works in Topaz Lake, and how
Work in Topaz Lake centers on retail trade and construction. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 86%
- Work from home 10%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in Topaz Lake
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Topaz Lake.
What the weather is like in Topaz Lake, month by month
Topaz Lake sees roughly 57 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 92 degrees. January highs sit near 46, with lows near 21. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 46° | 32° | 21° |
| April | 65° | 48° | 30° |
| July | 92° | 72° | 49° |
| October | 70° | 49° | 30° |
Flying in and out of Topaz Lake
The nearest airport, Reno/Tahoe International, is about 55 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Sacramento International, about 112 miles away.
The best schools in and around Topaz Lake
Schools across Topaz Lake average a C+, better than 48% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Minden Elementary SchoolB+ · 52% proficient
Top middle schools
- Pau Wa Lu Middle SchoolC · 33% proficient
Top high schools
- Douglas High SchoolC · 31% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Topaz Lake school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Topaz Lake 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 Topaz Lake against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Topaz Lake
Is Topaz Lake a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Topaz Lake ranks 34,612th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on state infrastructure, quiet, and state finances, and lowest on biking and the weather. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Topaz Lake expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $353,371. The overall cost of living runs about 4% above the national average. Set against a $71,050 median income, cost of living beats 24% of towns.
Is Topaz Lake safe?
Topaz Lake is safer than 35% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $419 per resident a year.
Compare Topaz Lake with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Topaz Lake. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Topaz Lake 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.
Topaz Lake detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Topaz Lake: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Topaz Lake: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Topaz Lake: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Topaz Lake: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Topaz Lake 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.