Best Places06118, CT Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 06118, 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.
06118 ranks 15,464th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on civic engagement by a wide margin, and property taxes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 06118
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.
06118's strengths and weaknesses
Where 06118 ranks high
- Voter turnoutBetter than 99% of zip codes
- Internet speedBetter than 95% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than 93% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than 88% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than 84% of zip codes
Where 06118 ranks low
- Low property taxBetter than only 1% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 59 pleasant days a year, better than only 6% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 7% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$1,463 a month, better than only 8% of zip codes
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 12% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 06118
A household needs to earn about $70,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 06118 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $80,158, so a typical household can afford the median home outright.
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 06118's effective rate of 2.27%, 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 6 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 06118
06118's age mix sits close to the national median.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 06118.
Who works in 06118, and how
Work in 06118 centers on health care & social and manufacturing. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 86%
- Work from home 10%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in 06118
06118 has fewer places to eat and drink per resident than most zip codes and more parkland per resident than 66% of zip codes. The coast is about 39 minutes away. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 06118 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 06118, month by month
06118 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 06118
Bradley International sits about 14 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 06118
Schools across 06118 average a C, better than 31% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Naubuc SchoolA− · 57% proficient
- Dr. Thomas S. O'connell SchoolC · 35% proficient
- Governor William Pitkin SchoolC · 33% proficient
Top middle schools
- Silas Deane Middle SchoolA− · 55% proficient
- Sunset Ridge Middle SchoolB− · 41% proficient
- Elisabeth M. Bennet AcademyD+ · 24% proficient
Top high schools
- Connecticut Ib AcademyB+ · 53% proficient
- Manchester High SchoolC · 34% proficient
- Pathways Academy Of Technology And DesignC− · 28% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 06118 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
06118 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 06118 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 06118 suits
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 10% already work from home.
Retirees
Set weather, quiet, and health care weights on the map to test the fit.
Common questions about living in 06118
Is 06118 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 06118 ranks 15,464th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on civic engagement, fast internet, and transit, and lowest on property taxes and the weather. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 06118 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $222,217. The overall cost of living runs about 6% below the national average. Set against a $80,158 median income, cost of living beats 53% of zip codes.
Is 06118 safe?
06118 is safer than 38% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $284 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 06118?
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 06118 good for families?
Schools beat 31% of zip codes, crime safety beats 38%, and childcare runs $1,463 a month.
Compare 06118 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 06118. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 06118 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.
06118 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 06118: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 06118: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 06118: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 06118: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
06118 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.