Best Places06260, CT Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 06260, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. This page is for people who live here or already know they want to. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
06260 ranks 15,362nd of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on civic engagement by a wide margin, and state finances rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 06260
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.
06260's strengths and weaknesses
Where 06260 ranks high
- Voter turnoutBetter than 99% of zip codes
- Internet speedBetter than 95% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than 87% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than 86% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than 80% of zip codes
Where 06260 ranks low
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 7% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$1,310 a month, better than only 14% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than only 19% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than only 23% of zip codes
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 24% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 06260
A household needs to earn about $76,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 06260 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $77,244, 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 06260's effective rate of 1.32%, 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 9 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 06260
06260 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 06260.
Who works in 06260, and how
Work in 06260 centers on manufacturing and health care & social. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 86%
- Work from home 10%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in 06260
06260 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 82% of zip codes and more parkland per resident than 93% of zip codes. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 06260 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 06260, month by month
06260 sees roughly 71 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 86 degrees. January highs sit near 41, with lows near 20. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 41° | 30° | 20° |
| April | 62° | 49° | 37° |
| July | 86° | 74° | 63° |
| October | 68° | 54° | 42° |
Flying in and out of 06260
The nearest airport, Worcester Regional, is about 24 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Bradley International, about 40 miles away.
The best schools in and around 06260
Schools across 06260 average a C, better than 35% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Putnam Elementary SchoolC · 33% proficient
Top middle schools
- Putnam Middle SchoolD+ · 26% proficient
Top high schools
- Putnam High SchoolC+ · 40% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 06260 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
06260 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 06260 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 06260
Is 06260 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 06260 ranks 15,362nd of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on civic engagement, fast internet, and big-city access, and lowest on state finances and childcare costs. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 06260 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $270,877. The overall cost of living runs about 8% below the national average. Set against a $77,244 median income, cost of living beats 53% of zip codes.
Is 06260 safe?
06260 is safer than 50% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $239 per resident a year.
Compare 06260 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 06260. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 06260 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.
06260 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 06260: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 06260: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 06260: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 06260: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
06260 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.