Best Places06401, CT Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 06401, 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.
06401 ranks 14,986th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on civic engagement by a wide margin, and childcare costs are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 06401
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.
06401's strengths and weaknesses
Where 06401 ranks high
- Voter turnoutBetter than 97% of zip codes
- Internet speedBetter than 95% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than 93% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than 87% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than 83% of zip codes
Where 06401 ranks low
- Cheap childcare$1,583 a month, better than only 4% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 5% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than only 6% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 7% of zip codes
- Local economyBetter than only 10% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 06401
A household needs to earn about $83,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 06401 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $85,172, 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 06401's effective rate of 1.82%, 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 7 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 06401
06401'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 06401.
Who works in 06401, and how
Work in 06401 centers on health care & social and retail trade. Unemployment runs well above the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 87%
- Work from home 9%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in 06401
06401 has more parkland per resident than 83% of zip codes. The coast is about 16 minutes away. That concentrates in some parts of 06401 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 06401, month by month
06401 sees roughly 71 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 84 degrees. January highs sit near 38, with lows near 21. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 38° | 30° | 21° |
| April | 60° | 48° | 38° |
| July | 84° | 73° | 63° |
| October | 66° | 54° | 44° |
Flying in and out of 06401
The nearest airport, Tweed/New Haven, is about 11 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Bradley International, about 46 miles away.
The best schools in and around 06401
Schools across 06401 average a D+, better than 14% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Beecher Road SchoolA+ · 77% proficient
- Bungay SchoolB · 48% proficient
- Bradley SchoolB− · 42% proficient
Top middle schools
- Amity Middle School: BethanyA · 60% proficient
- Seymour Middle SchoolB · 44% proficient
- Derby Middle SchoolC− · 28% proficient
Top high schools
- Amity Regional High SchoolA− · 64% proficient
- Seymour High SchoolB · 48% proficient
- Ansonia High SchoolC · 32% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 06401 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
06401 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 06401 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 06401
Is 06401 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 06401 ranks 14,986th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on civic engagement, fast internet, and big-city access, and lowest on childcare costs and an overheated housing market. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 06401 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $279,633. The overall cost of living runs about 2% below the national average. Set against a $85,172 median income, cost of living beats 60% of zip codes.
Is 06401 safe?
06401 is safer than 51% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $246 per resident a year.
Compare 06401 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 06401. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 06401 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.
06401 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 06401: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 06401: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 06401: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 06401: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
06401 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.