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Big city living isn't for everyone--but at the same time, urban areas certainly have their perks.
There's the culture, the food, the arts, the food, the energy, and you know, the food. But there are drawbacks. There's traffic, expensive parking, expensive housing--pretty much, expensive everything, depending on which big city you're looking at.
But that's where the suburbs come in--they have all of the benefits of being near big cities, without actually having to be big cities.
Of course, not all suburbs of Elk Grove are created equally, which is precisely why we set out to find the best ones. So without further ado...
What's the best suburb of Elk Grove? Folsom ranks as the best suburb of Elk Grove for 2022 based on the most recent Census and FBI data. If you happen to be a resident of Folsom, you're probably not too surprised to find it on the top our list.
We'll tell you what makes each of these 10 Elk Grove 'burbs better than the rest--but first, a bit about our methodology.
Note: This result may differ from our state wide data as we did not include commute times and crime for this analysis to allow for a larger selection of suburbs.
Feel free to check out some more reading about California:
The 10 Best Elk Grove Suburbs To Live For 2022
Folsom is always mentioned as one of the best suburbs in the Elk Grove area. We'll tell you the good about "Awesome Folsom."
Everyone here is rich; families average $118,006 a year, which is the highest in the Elk Grove region. And only 3.9% are out of work. Homes average more than $558,900 each.
/10
Population: 79,584
Rank Last Year: 1 (No Change)
Median Income: $118,006
Unemployment Rate: 3.9%
Poverty Rate: 5.0%
More on Folsom: Real Estate | Data | Photos
Rocklin is the second best 'burb we looked at near Elk Grove for 2022.
It ranks 2nd for incomes in the area and only 3.91% of residents lack insurance, good for 8th best.
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Population: 67,070
Rank Last Year: 2 (No Change)
Median Income: $100,664
Unemployment Rate: 4.6%
Poverty Rate: 5.7%
More on Rocklin: Real Estate | Data | Photos
Here in Lincoln, it's really safe, and residents are just about as rich as you'll see in the Elk Grove metro area.
The bad side? Schools are more crowded, and the cost of living puts a large part of the city out of reach for most families.
But price is based on demand and a lot of people want to live in Lincoln.
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Population: 48,150
Rank Last Year: 5 (Up 2)
Median Income: $88,991
Unemployment Rate: 3.1%
Poverty Rate: 6.6%
More on Lincoln: Real Estate | Data | Photos
Roseville ranks as the 4th best suburb of Elk Grove for 2022.
You won't find many better places to raise your kids in the region than in Roseville and the schools are some of the best around.
/10
Population: 138,860
Rank Last Year: 4 (No Change)
Median Income: $95,519
Unemployment Rate: 5.0%
Poverty Rate: 7.5%
More on Roseville: Real Estate | Data | Photos
Coming in as the fifth best is Davis.
Davis gets kudos for having the most expensive homes in the Elk Grove area, where houses sell for an average of $675,900. However, the cost of living here is among the highest in the area.
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Population: 68,640
Rank Last Year: 6 (Up 1)
Median Income: $75,394
Unemployment Rate: 6.3%
Poverty Rate: 27.8%
More on Davis: Real Estate | Data | Photos
Loomis is proud of its 6th place finish on this list. And here's why.
Most residents have great jobs and the unemployment rate sits at 1.99% which is 2nd best in the area.
According to online reports, Loomis is quickly becoming one of the more affluent suburbs in the Elk Grove area, meaning you need to get in soon.
/10
Population: 6,802
Rank Last Year: 3 (Down 3)
Median Income: $68,809
Unemployment Rate: 2.0%
Poverty Rate: 10.7%
More on Loomis: Real Estate | Data | Photos
The 7th best suburb on our list goes to Ione.
Ione schools are some of the best in the region, and crime is really low. The cost of living makes it a lot more desirable for many families, especially first-time home buyers.
And, it's only 24.3 miles to downtown, which is a good thing.
/10
Population: 7,861
Rank Last Year: 7 (No Change)
Median Income: $65,481
Unemployment Rate: 1.8%
Poverty Rate: 6.3%
More on Ione: Real Estate | Data | Photos
Camanche is growing quickly, and for a good reason. Crime is far below average, and most residents are gainfully employed. Even the cost of living is reasonable.
A solid 1.73% of people lack insurance, good for 2nd in the area.
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Population: 4,342
Rank Last Year: 8 (No Change)
Median Income: $52,623
Unemployment Rate: 3.3%
Poverty Rate: 6.4%
More on Camanche: Real Estate
Is 'Everything Better In Woodland?'
Almost.
It placed 9th on our list thanks to the fact that it's really expensive to live here, but the schools are great, so you get what you pay for in that regard.
/10
Population: 59,759
Rank Last Year: 11 (Up 2)
Median Income: $71,477
Unemployment Rate: 4.6%
Poverty Rate: 10.5%
More on Woodland: Real Estate | Data | Photos
And rounding out the top ten for 2022 is Dixon.
This city is far above average in every category, and the best part? It's far more affordable than the other cities listed above. So, you get a big bang for your buck here.
/10
Population: 20,106
Rank Last Year: 12 (Up 2)
Median Income: $79,465
Unemployment Rate: 5.8%
Poverty Rate: 7.8%
More on Dixon: Real Estate | Data | Photos
Methodology: How We Determined The Best Suburbs Around Elk Grove for 2022
Figuring out the best suburbs around Elk Grove was pretty simple; we just needed to list several things that people like, and then find out which cities have the most of those things.
We threw a lot of criteria at this one in order to get the best, most complete results possible:
- Low unemployment rate
- High Median household incomes
- Population density (lots of things to do)
- High home values
- A lot of college educated people
- Low poverty
- High rate of insured families
Then we used the newest American Community Survey data for 2016-2020 to research each suburb.
FYI: We defined a suburb as being within 30 miles of Elk Grove.
Additionally, we limited the analysis to places that have over 4,000 people. This left us with a grand total of 17 suburbs to evaluate around Elk Grove.
We ranked each place with scores from 1 to 17 in each category, where 1 was the "best.
Next, we averaged the rankings for each place to create a quality of life index.
And finally, we crowned the city with the best quality of life index the "Best Suburb near Elk Grove." We're lookin' at you, Folsom. You can download the data here.
Read on below to learn more about what it's like to live in the best of the best. Or skip to the end to see the list of all the suburbs ranked from best to worst.
Summary: Welcome to the Best Elk Grove 'Burbs of 2022
We said it once and we'll say it again--life in the big city isn't for everyone. At least not all the time.
So if you're hankering for some of the amenities of a larger city like Elk Grove, but don't want to deal with the drawbacks, one of these suburbs might just be for you.
For more California reading, check out:
Detailed List Of The Best Elk Grove Suburbs
| Rank | City | Population |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Folsom, CA | 79,584 |
| 2 | Rocklin, CA | 67,070 |
| 3 | Lincoln, CA | 48,150 |
| 4 | Roseville, CA | 138,860 |
| 5 | Davis, CA | 68,640 |
| 6 | Loomis, CA | 6,802 |
| 7 | Ione, CA | 7,861 |
| 8 | Camanche, CA | 4,342 |
| 9 | Woodland, CA | 59,759 |
| 10 | Dixon, CA | 20,106 |
| 11 | West Sacramento, CA | 53,574 |
| 12 | Galt, CA | 26,235 |
| 13 | Citrus Heights, CA | 87,665 |
| 14 | Sacramento, CA | 503,482 |
| 15 | Rio Vista, CA | 9,407 |
| 16 | Rancho Cordova, CA | 74,394 |
| 17 | Lodi, CA | 66,562 |
