Best PlacesTulare, CA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Tulare, 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.
Tulare ranks 1,869th of 2,098 U.S. cities on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on cell coverage by a wide margin, and air quality ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Tulare
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.
Tulare's strengths and weaknesses
Where Tulare ranks high
- Cell coverageBetter than 91% of cities
- Low property taxBetter than 73% of cities
- Short commute23.0 minutes each way, better than 71% of cities
- Nice weatherabout 120 pleasant days a year, better than 70% of cities
- BikingBetter than 67% of cities
Where Tulare ranks low
- Air qualityBetter than only 2% of cities
- Tree shadeBetter than only 3% of cities
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 3% of cities
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 4% of cities
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 6% of cities
What it costs to buy a home in Tulare
A household needs to earn about $85,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Tulare home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $77,371; the gap is small, which keeps homes within reach of local pay.
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 Tulare's effective rate of 0.69%, 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 Tulare
Tulare 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 Tulare.
Who works in Tulare, and how
Work in Tulare centers on agriculture & forestry and health care & social. Unemployment runs well above the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 91%
- Work from home 6%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in Tulare
Tulare has more parkland per resident than 82% of cities. That concentrates in some parts of Tulare and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Tulare, month by month
Tulare sees roughly 120 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 Tulare
The nearest airport, Fresno Yosemite International, is about 45 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Bob Hope, about 149 miles away.
The best schools in and around Tulare
Schools across Tulare average a C−, better than 14% of cities.
Top elementary schools
- Linwood ElementaryA+ · 75% proficient
- Three Rivers ElementaryB · 48% proficient
- Springville ElementaryC+ · 38% proficient
Top middle schools
- La Joya MiddleC− · 30% proficient
- Live Oak MiddleC− · 28% proficient
- Los Tules MiddleD · 19% proficient
Top high schools
- Lindsay Senior HighA+ · 90% proficient
- Mission Oak HighB− · 43% proficient
- Tulare Union HighB− · 43% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Tulare school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Tulare 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 Tulare against the other 2,097 cities.
Who Tulare suits
Common questions about living in Tulare
Is Tulare a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Tulare ranks 1,869th of 2,098 cities. It scores highest on cell coverage, low property taxes, and short commutes, and lowest on air quality and tree cover. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Tulare expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $331,256. The overall cost of living runs about 2% above the national average. Set against a $77,371 median income, cost of living beats 16% of cities.
Is Tulare safe?
Tulare is safer than 35% of cities. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $405 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Tulare?
July highs average about 100 degrees, and January highs near 60 with lows near 38. That works out to about 120 pleasant days a year, more than 70% of cities.
Is Tulare good for families?
Schools beat 14% of cities, crime safety beats 35%, and childcare runs $947 a month.
Compare Tulare with other cities
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Tulare. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Tulare 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.
Tulare detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Tulare: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Tulare: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Tulare: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Tulare: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Tulare 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.