Best Places06498, CT Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 06498, 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.
06498 ranks 6,424th 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 06498
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.
06498's strengths and weaknesses
Where 06498 ranks high
- Voter turnoutBetter than 99% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than 97% of zip codes
- Internet speedBetter than 96% of zip codes
- Tree shadeBetter than 89% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than 88% of zip codes
Where 06498 ranks low
- Cheap childcare$1,583 a month, better than only 4% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 7% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 8% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than only 15% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than only 23% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 06498
A household needs to earn about $119,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 06498 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $98,457, so buying stretches a typical household.
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 06498's effective rate of 1.22%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices and rents, renting stays cheaper than buying across the first 10 years here, so the case for buying rests on staying much longer or on prices rising faster than assumed. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 06498
06498 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 06498.
Who works in 06498, and how
Work in 06498 centers on manufacturing and retail trade. Unemployment is low, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 69%
- Work from home 19%
- Transit, walk, or bike 12%
Life in 06498
06498 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 84% of zip codes. The coast is about 3 minutes away. That concentrates in some parts of 06498 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 06498, month by month
06498 sees roughly 80 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 85 degrees. January highs sit near 40, with lows near 26. The comfortable stretch runs May through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 40° | 32° | 26° |
| April | 59° | 50° | 42° |
| July | 85° | 75° | 67° |
| October | 66° | 57° | 49° |
Flying in and out of 06498
The nearest airport, Tweed/New Haven, is about 22 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Bradley International, about 46 miles away.
The best schools in and around 06498
Schools across 06498 average a B+, better than 77% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Daisy Ingraham SchoolB+ · 55% proficient
- Lewin G. Joel Jr. SchoolB · 50% proficient
Top middle schools
- Westbrook Middle SchoolA · 63% proficient
- Jared Eliot SchoolB+ · 51% proficient
Top high schools
- The Morgan SchoolB+ · 57% proficient
- Westbrook High SchoolB− · 43% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 06498 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
06498 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 06498 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 06498
Is 06498 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 06498 ranks 6,424th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on civic engagement, health care access, and fast internet, and lowest on childcare costs and state finances. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 06498 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $430,228. The overall cost of living runs about 11% above the national average. Set against a $98,457 median income, cost of living beats 67% of zip codes.
Is 06498 safe?
Yes, 06498 is safer than 81% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $178 per resident a year.
Compare 06498 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 06498. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 06498 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.
06498 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 06498: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 06498: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 06498: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 06498: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
06498 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.