Best Places06472, CT Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 06472, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Local pay runs high here, and housing takes the biggest bite out of it. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
06472 ranks 4,259th 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 06472
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.
06472's strengths and weaknesses
Where 06472 ranks high
- Voter turnoutBetter than 99% of zip codes
- Internet speedBetter than 96% of zip codes
- Low vacancyBetter than 93% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than 91% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than 90% of zip codes
Where 06472 ranks low
- Cheap childcare$1,583 a month, better than only 4% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than only 6% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 7% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 67 pleasant days a year, better than only 19% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 22% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 06472
A household needs to earn about $121,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 06472 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $114,601; 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 06472's effective rate of 1.80%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Who lives in 06472
06472 runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 06472.
Who works in 06472, and how
Work in 06472 centers on retail trade and education. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 81%
- Work from home 12%
- Transit, walk, or bike 7%
Life in 06472
The coast is about 16 minutes away. Distance to the water changes a lot across 06472, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 06472, month by month
06472 sees roughly 67 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 87 degrees. January highs sit near 42, with lows near 21. The comfortable stretch runs May through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 42° | 31° | 21° |
| April | 63° | 50° | 38° |
| July | 87° | 75° | 64° |
| October | 69° | 55° | 43° |
Flying in and out of 06472
The nearest airport, Tweed/New Haven, is about 11 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Bradley International, about 38 miles away.
The best schools in and around 06472
Schools across 06472 average a B, better than 64% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Melissa Jones SchoolA− · 60% proficient
- Totoket Valley Elementary SchoolB+ · 52% proficient
Top middle schools
- North Branford Intermediate SchoolB− · 43% proficient
- Dag Hammarskjold Middle SchoolC · 35% proficient
Top high schools
- Lyman Hall High SchoolB · 49% proficient
- North Branford High SchoolB− · 42% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 06472 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
06472 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 06472 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 06472
Is 06472 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 06472 ranks 4,259th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on civic engagement, fast internet, and few empty homes, and lowest on childcare costs and property taxes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 06472 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $405,664. The overall cost of living runs about 2% below the national average. Set against a $114,601 median income, cost of living beats 90% of zip codes.
Is 06472 safe?
Yes, 06472 is safer than 84% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $158 per resident a year.
Compare 06472 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 06472. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 06472 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.
06472 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 06472: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 06472: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 06472: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 06472: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
06472 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.