Best Places06604, CT Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 06604, 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.
06604 ranks 28,882nd of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on walkability by a wide margin, and the schools rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 06604
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.
06604's strengths and weaknesses
Where 06604 ranks high
- WalkabilityBetter than 98% of zip codes
- Internet speedBetter than 97% of zip codes
- Cell coverageBetter than 97% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than 96% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than 95% of zip codes
Where 06604 ranks low
- School gradeD−, better than only 2% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$1,858 a month, better than only 2% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 3% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than only 4% of zip codes
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 6% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 06604
A household needs to earn about $76,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 06604 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $50,775, 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 06604's effective rate of 1.99%, 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 06604
06604 runs younger than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 06604.
Who works in 06604, and how
Work in 06604 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 77%
- Work from home 8%
- Transit, walk, or bike 15%
Life in 06604
06604 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 79% of zip codes and more parkland per resident than 84% of zip codes. The coast is about 3 minutes away. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 06604 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 06604, month by month
06604 sees roughly 68 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 87 degrees. January highs sit near 43, with lows near 25. The comfortable stretch runs May, June, and August through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 43° | 34° | 25° |
| April | 61° | 50° | 41° |
| July | 87° | 77° | 68° |
| October | 69° | 59° | 49° |
Flying in and out of 06604
The nearest airport, Tweed/New Haven, is about 17 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Laguardia, about 45 miles away.
The best schools in and around 06604
Schools across 06604 average a D−, better than 2% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- John Winthrop SchoolC− · 28% proficient
- Classical Studies AcademyD · 18% proficient
- Beardsley SchoolD · 17% proficient
Top high schools
- Fairfield Warde High SchoolA− · 61% proficient
- Central High SchoolD− · 17% proficient
- Bridgeport Military AcademyF · 6% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 06604 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
06604 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 06604 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 06604 suits
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 8% already work from home.
Retirees
Set weather, quiet, and health care weights on the map to test the fit.
Common questions about living in 06604
Is 06604 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 06604 ranks 28,882nd of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on walkability, fast internet, and cell coverage, and lowest on the schools and childcare costs. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 06604 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $250,838. The overall cost of living runs about 1% below the national average. Set against a $50,775 median income, cost of living beats 6% of zip codes.
Is 06604 safe?
06604 is safer than 14% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $420 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 06604?
July highs average about 87 degrees, and January highs near 43 with lows near 25. That works out to about 68 pleasant days a year, more than 21% of zip codes.
Is 06604 good for families?
Schools beat 2% of zip codes, crime safety beats 14%, and childcare runs $1,858 a month.
Compare 06604 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 06604. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 06604 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.
06604 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 06604: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 06604: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 06604: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 06604: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
06604 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.