Best Places01256, MA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 01256, 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.
01256 ranks 25,396th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on tree cover by a wide margin, and a weak job market ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 01256
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.
01256's strengths and weaknesses
Where 01256 ranks high
- Tree shadeBetter than 98% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than 90% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than 85% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than 83% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than 82% of zip codes
Where 01256 ranks low
- Local economyBetter than only 5% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 59 pleasant days a year, better than only 7% of zip codes
- Cell coverageBetter than only 7% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$1,385 a month, better than only 10% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 12% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 01256
A household needs to earn about $77,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 01256 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $62,568, 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 01256's effective rate of 0.97%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Who lives in 01256
01256 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 01256.
Who works in 01256, and how
Work in 01256 centers on health care & social and manufacturing. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 92%
- Work from home 3%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in 01256
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 01256.
What the weather is like in 01256, month by month
01256 sees roughly 59 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 85 degrees. January highs sit near 36, with lows near 18. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 36° | 26° | 18° |
| April | 60° | 47° | 35° |
| July | 85° | 71° | 59° |
| October | 65° | 52° | 41° |
Flying in and out of 01256
The nearest airport, Albany International, is about 42 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Bradley International, about 47 miles away.
The best schools in and around 01256
Schools across 01256 average a D+, better than 12% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Emma L Miller Elementary SchoolD+ · 21% proficient
- Abbott MemorialD− · 15% proficient
Top high schools
- Hoosac Valley High SchoolD · 23% proficient
- Drury HighD− · 17% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 01256 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
01256 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 01256 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 01256
Is 01256 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 01256 ranks 25,396th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on tree cover, clean air, and low crime, and lowest on a weak job market and the weather. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 01256 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $287,589. The overall cost of living runs about 6% above the national average. Set against a $62,568 median income, cost of living beats 16% of zip codes.
Is 01256 safe?
Yes, 01256 is safer than 85% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $199 per resident a year.
Compare 01256 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 01256. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 01256 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.
01256 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 01256: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 01256: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 01256: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 01256: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
01256 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.