Best Places06106, CT Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 06106, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. The coast is close, and the measures below put a number on how close. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
06106 ranks 25,629th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on walkability by a wide margin, and an overheated housing market is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 06106
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.
06106's strengths and weaknesses
Where 06106 ranks high
- WalkabilityBetter than 98% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than 97% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than 96% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than 95% of zip codes
- Cell coverageBetter than 95% of zip codes
Where 06106 ranks low
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 2% of zip codes
- School gradeD−, better than only 3% of zip codes
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 5% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than only 6% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 6% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 06106
A household needs to earn about $71,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 06106 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $50,933, 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 06106's effective rate of 1.81%, 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 06106
06106 runs younger 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 06106.
Who works in 06106, and how
Work in 06106 centers on health care & social and retail trade. Unemployment runs well above the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 69%
- Work from home 12%
- Transit, walk, or bike 19%
Life in 06106
06106 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 81% of zip codes and more parkland per resident than 81% of zip codes. The coast is about 39 minutes away. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 06106 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 06106, month by month
06106 sees roughly 59 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 88 degrees. January highs sit near 42, with lows near 23. The comfortable stretch runs May, June, and August through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 42° | 32° | 23° |
| April | 63° | 51° | 39° |
| July | 88° | 77° | 66° |
| October | 69° | 56° | 45° |
Flying in and out of 06106
Bradley International sits about 13 miles away. It is a medium hub and boarded 3.3 million passengers in 2025, with 92 nonstop destinations.
The best schools in and around 06106
Schools across 06106 average a D−, better than 3% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Environmental Sciences Magnet At Hooker SchoolC · 32% proficient
- Breakthrough Magnet School SouthC− · 30% proficient
- Betances Learning Lab Magnet SchoolC− · 28% proficient
Top middle schools
- Betances Stem Magnet SchoolC− · 30% proficient
- Mcdonough Middle SchoolF · 6% proficient
Top high schools
- Conard High SchoolA · 70% proficient
- Newington High SchoolA− · 62% proficient
- University High School Of Science And EngineeringC+ · 38% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 06106 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
06106 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 06106 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 06106 suits
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 12% already work from home.
Retirees
Set weather, quiet, and health care weights on the map to test the fit.
Common questions about living in 06106
Is 06106 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 06106 ranks 25,629th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on walkability, transit, and biking, and lowest on an overheated housing market and the schools. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 06106 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $240,047. The overall cost of living runs about 10% below the national average. Set against a $50,933 median income, cost of living beats 9% of zip codes.
Is 06106 safe?
06106 is safer than 15% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $405 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 06106?
July highs average about 88 degrees, and January highs near 42 with lows near 23. That works out to about 59 pleasant days a year, more than 6% of zip codes.
Is 06106 good for families?
Schools beat 3% of zip codes, crime safety beats 15%, and childcare runs $1,463 a month.
Compare 06106 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 06106. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 06106 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.
06106 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 06106: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 06106: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 06106: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 06106: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
06106 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.