Best PlacesVolcano, CA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Volcano, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Local pay runs high here, and housing takes the biggest bite out of it. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Volcano ranks 23,343rd of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on a strong job market by a wide margin, and long commutes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Volcano
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.
Volcano's strengths and weaknesses
Where Volcano ranks high
- Local economyBetter than 96% of towns
- Nice weatherabout 165 pleasant days a year, better than 96% of towns
- Household income$106,025 median, better than 88% of towns
- Big-city accessBetter than 88% of towns
- QuietBetter than 84% of towns
Where Volcano ranks low
- Short commute57.1 minutes each way, better than only 1% of towns
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 8% of towns
- Cell coverageBetter than only 9% of towns
- Internet speedBetter than only 11% of towns
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 12% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Volcano
A household needs to earn about $131,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Volcano home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $106,025, 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 Volcano's effective rate of 0.70%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices and rents, renting stays cheaper than buying across the first 10 years here, so the case for buying rests on staying much longer or on prices rising faster than assumed. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Volcano
Volcano runs older than the country, and households here run smaller than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Volcano.
Who works in Volcano, and how
Work in Volcano centers on construction and public administration. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 78%
- Work from home 19%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in Volcano
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Volcano.
What the weather is like in Volcano, month by month
Volcano sees roughly 165 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 91 degrees. January highs sit near 53, with lows near 41. The comfortable stretch runs April through June, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 53° | 46° | 41° |
| April | 65° | 55° | 47° |
| July | 91° | 80° | 70° |
| October | 73° | 64° | 57° |
Flying in and out of Volcano
The nearest airport, Stockton Metro, is about 52 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Sacramento International, about 55 miles away.
The best schools in and around Volcano
Schools across Volcano average a C−, better than 23% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Pine Grove Elementary Stem MagnetC+ · 37% proficient
- Sutter Creek ElementaryC− · 28% proficient
- Pioneer Magnet School For The Visual And Performing ArtsD+ · 24% proficient
Top middle schools
- Ione Junior HighD · 23% proficient
- Jackson Junior HighD · 22% proficient
Top high schools
- Argonaut HighC+ · 35% proficient
- Amador HighC · 32% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Volcano school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Volcano 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 Volcano against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Volcano
Is Volcano a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Volcano ranks 23,343rd of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on a strong job market, the weather, and high incomes, and lowest on long commutes and taxes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Volcano expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $508,081. The overall cost of living runs about 8% above the national average. Set against a $106,025 median income, cost of living beats 80% of towns.
Is Volcano safe?
Yes, Volcano is safer than 77% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $237 per resident a year.
Compare Volcano with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Volcano. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Volcano 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.
Volcano detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Volcano: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Volcano: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Volcano: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Volcano: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Volcano 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.