Best PlacesYosemite National Park, CA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Yosemite National Park, 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.
Yosemite National Park ranks 41,882nd of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on biking by a wide margin, and internet speeds rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Yosemite National Park
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.
Yosemite National Park's strengths and weaknesses
Where Yosemite National Park ranks high
- BikingBetter than 98% of towns
- Nice weatherabout 171 pleasant days a year, better than 97% of towns
- TransitBetter than 96% of towns
- QuietBetter than 93% of towns
- Low property taxBetter than 92% of towns
Where Yosemite National Park ranks low
- Internet speedBetter than only 1% of towns
- Crime safetyBetter than only 2% of towns
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 2% of towns
- Air qualityBetter than only 2% of towns
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 3% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Yosemite National Park
A household needs to earn about $82,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Yosemite National Park home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $53,398, 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 Yosemite National Park's effective rate of 0.35%, 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 Yosemite National Park
Yosemite National Park's age mix sits close to the national median, 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 Yosemite National Park.
Who works in Yosemite National Park, and how
Work in Yosemite National Park centers on hospitality & food and arts & entertainment. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 62%
- Work from home 10%
- Transit, walk, or bike 28%
Life in Yosemite National Park
Yosemite National Park has more restaurants and bars per resident than 98% of towns. That concentrates in some parts of Yosemite National Park and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Yosemite National Park, month by month
Yosemite National Park sees roughly 171 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 78 degrees. January highs sit near 44, with lows near 32. The comfortable stretch runs June through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 44° | 37° | 32° |
| April | 53° | 44° | 38° |
| July | 78° | 69° | 63° |
| October | 62° | 53° | 47° |
Flying in and out of Yosemite National Park
The nearest airport, Mammoth Yosemite, is about 43 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Sacramento International, about 127 miles away.
The best schools in and around Yosemite National Park
Schools across Yosemite National Park average a C+, better than 56% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Yosemite National Park Valley ElementaryA+ · 75% proficient
- Yosemite National Park El PortalC− · 28% proficient
- Oakhurst ElementaryD+ · 25% proficient
Top middle schools
- Oak Creek IntermediateC · 33% proficient
Top high schools
- Lee Vining HighC+ · 37% proficient
- Don Pedro HighD+ · 25% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Yosemite National Park school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Yosemite National Park 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 Yosemite National Park against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Yosemite National Park
Is Yosemite National Park a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Yosemite National Park ranks 41,882nd of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on biking, the weather, and transit, and lowest on internet speeds and crime. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Yosemite National Park expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $334,153. The overall cost of living runs about 25% above the national average. Set against a $53,398 median income, cost of living beats 3% of towns.
Is Yosemite National Park safe?
Yosemite National Park is safer than 2% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $1,015 per resident a year.
Compare Yosemite National Park with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Yosemite National Park. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Yosemite National Park 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.
Yosemite National Park detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Yosemite National Park: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Yosemite National Park: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Yosemite National Park: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Yosemite National Park: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Yosemite National Park 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.