Method and system for determining a neighbor list for a code division multiple access (CDMA) sector

In a code division multiple access (CDMA) radio communications network (20) having a plurality of cells (24) subdivided into sectors (26), a computer based method (36) and a computing system (34) determine a neighbor list (56) for a selected one of the sectors (26). The sector (26) is subdivided into a plurality of locations (64). For each location (64), a primary pilot channel (88) exhibiting a primary signal quality (92) is distinguished. Secondary pilot channels (120) are identified exhibiting secondary signal qualities (119) within a signal quality threshold window (108) of the primary signal quality (92) of the primary pilot channel. The primary and secondary pilot channels (88 and 120) are included in the neighbor list (56) for the sector (26) as candidate handoff channels (98). The candidate handoff channels (98) are arranged in a ranked order in the neighbor list (56) such that those candidate handoff channels (98) having a higher rank have a greater likelihood for inclusion in a neighbor set of a mobile station (32) residing in the serving area of the sector (26).