Best Places06340, CT Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 06340, 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.
06340 ranks 10,599th 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 06340
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.
06340's strengths and weaknesses
Where 06340 ranks high
- Voter turnoutBetter than 95% of zip codes
- Short commute18.5 minutes each way, better than 90% of zip codes
- Heat safetyBetter than 87% of zip codes
- Internet speedBetter than 86% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than 85% of zip codes
Where 06340 ranks low
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 7% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than only 12% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$1,310 a month, better than only 14% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 16% of zip codes
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 21% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 06340
A household needs to earn about $90,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 06340 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $85,121; the gap is small, which keeps homes within reach of local pay.
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 06340's effective rate of 1.52%, 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 06340
06340 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 06340.
Who works in 06340, and how
Work in 06340 centers on manufacturing and health care & social. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 83%
- Work from home 11%
- Transit, walk, or bike 7%
Life in 06340
06340 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 85% of zip codes and more parkland per resident than 85% of zip codes. The coast is about 5 minutes away. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 06340 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 06340, month by month
06340 sees roughly 86 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 83 degrees. January highs sit near 43, with lows near 24. The comfortable stretch runs May through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 43° | 33° | 24° |
| April | 59° | 48° | 39° |
| July | 83° | 74° | 66° |
| October | 67° | 57° | 47° |
Flying in and out of 06340
The nearest airport, Westerly State, is about 13 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Bradley International, about 52 miles away.
The best schools in and around 06340
Schools across 06340 average a C+, better than 48% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Northeast Academy Magnet SchoolB+ · 55% proficient
- Thames River Magnet SchoolB+ · 53% proficient
- Charles Barnum Magnet SchoolB · 50% proficient
Top middle schools
- Groton Middle SchoolC+ · 39% proficient
- Bennie Dover Jackson Middle SchoolF · 8% proficient
Top high schools
- Marine Science Magnet High SchoolA · 68% proficient
- Robert E. Fitch High SchoolB · 49% proficient
- Ella T. Grasso Technical High SchoolC− · 30% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 06340 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
06340 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 06340 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 06340 suits
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 11% already work from home.
Common questions about living in 06340
Is 06340 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 06340 ranks 10,599th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on civic engagement, short commutes, and heat safety, and lowest on state finances and property taxes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 06340 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $314,856. The overall cost of living runs about 6% below the national average. Set against a $85,121 median income, cost of living beats 67% of zip codes.
Is 06340 safe?
06340 is safer than 40% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $275 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 06340?
July highs average about 83 degrees, and January highs near 43 with lows near 24. That works out to about 86 pleasant days a year, more than 51% of zip codes.
Is 06340 good for families?
Schools beat 48% of zip codes, crime safety beats 40%, and childcare runs $1,310 a month.
Compare 06340 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 06340. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 06340 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.
06340 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 06340: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 06340: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 06340: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 06340: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
06340 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.