Best Places06824, CT Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 06824, 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.
06824 ranks 1,550th 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 06824
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.
06824's strengths and weaknesses
Where 06824 ranks high
- Voter turnoutBetter than 99% of zip codes
- Household income$197,300 median, better than 99% of zip codes
- Health outlookBetter than 98% of zip codes
- Internet speedBetter than 98% of zip codes
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 98% of zip codes
Where 06824 ranks low
- Cheap childcare$1,858 a month, better than only 2% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 7% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than only 9% of zip codes
- Short commute33.6 minutes each way, better than only 14% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 16% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 06824
A household needs to earn about $256,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 06824 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $197,300, 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 06824's effective rate of 1.35%, 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 06824
06824'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 06824.
Who works in 06824, and how
Work in 06824 centers on finance & insurance and professional & technical. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 55%
- Work from home 31%
- Transit, walk, or bike 13%
Life in 06824
06824 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 81% of zip codes and more parkland per resident than 87% of zip codes. The coast is about 4 minutes away. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 06824 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 06824, month by month
06824 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 06824
The nearest airport, Tweed/New Haven, is about 21 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Laguardia, about 42 miles away.
The best schools in and around 06824
Schools across 06824 average an A, better than 94% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Sherman SchoolA+ · 89% proficient
- Dwight Elementary SchoolA+ · 82% proficient
- Riverfield SchoolA+ · 80% proficient
Top middle schools
- Roger Ludlowe Middle SchoolA+ · 69% proficient
- Fairfield Woods Middle SchoolA · 65% proficient
- Tomlinson Middle SchoolA− · 55% proficient
Top high schools
- Fairfield Ludlowe High SchoolA · 72% proficient
- Fairfield Warde High SchoolA− · 61% proficient
- Bridgeport Military AcademyF · 6% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 06824 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
06824 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 06824 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 06824 suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 98% of zip codes, internet is fast and widely advertised, and 31% already work from home.
Common questions about living in 06824
Is 06824 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 06824 ranks 1,550th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on civic engagement, high incomes, and population health, 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 06824 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $910,095. The overall cost of living runs about 31% above the national average. Set against a $197,300 median income, cost of living beats 98% of zip codes.
Is 06824 safe?
06824 is safer than 46% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $259 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 06824?
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 06824 good for families?
Schools beat 94% of zip codes, crime safety beats 46%, and childcare runs $1,858 a month.
Compare 06824 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 06824. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 06824 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.
06824 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 06824: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 06824: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 06824: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 06824: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
06824 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.