Best Places06812, CT Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 06812, 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.
06812 ranks 3,269th 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 06812
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.
06812's strengths and weaknesses
Where 06812 ranks high
- Voter turnoutBetter than 99% of zip codes
- Tree shadeBetter than 98% of zip codes
- Household income$144,084 median, better than 95% of zip codes
- Heat safetyBetter than 94% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than 93% of zip codes
Where 06812 ranks low
- Cheap childcare$1,858 a month, better than only 2% of zip codes
- Short commute42.3 minutes each way, better than only 2% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 7% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than only 14% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 14% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 06812
A household needs to earn about $145,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 06812 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $144,084; 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 06812's effective rate of 1.47%, 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 10 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 06812
06812 runs older than the country, and households here run larger than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 06812.
Who works in 06812, and how
Work in 06812 centers on health care & social and professional & technical. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 76%
- Work from home 19%
- Transit, walk, or bike 6%
Life in 06812
06812 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 78% of zip codes. The coast is about 41 minutes away. That concentrates in some parts of 06812 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 06812, month by month
06812 sees roughly 73 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 86 degrees. January highs sit near 41, with lows near 21. The comfortable stretch runs May through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 41° | 31° | 21° |
| April | 63° | 50° | 38° |
| July | 86° | 75° | 63° |
| October | 68° | 55° | 43° |
Flying in and out of 06812
The nearest airport, Westchester County, is about 30 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Laguardia, about 52 miles away.
The best schools in and around 06812
Schools across 06812 average an A−, better than 85% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Sherman SchoolA− · 58% proficient
- Meeting House Hill SchoolA− · 57% proficient
Top middle schools
- New Fairfield Middle SchoolA · 61% proficient
Top high schools
- New Fairfield High SchoolA− · 62% proficient
- New Milford High SchoolB · 48% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 06812 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
06812 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 06812 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 06812
Is 06812 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 06812 ranks 3,269th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on civic engagement, tree cover, and high incomes, and lowest on childcare costs and long commutes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 06812 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $506,644. The overall cost of living runs about 15% above the national average. Set against a $144,084 median income, cost of living beats 92% of zip codes.
Is 06812 safe?
Yes, 06812 is safer than 70% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $188 per resident a year.
Compare 06812 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 06812. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 06812 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.
06812 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 06812: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 06812: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 06812: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 06812: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
06812 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.