Best Places06851, CT Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 06851, 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.
06851 ranks 4,604th 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 06851
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.
06851's strengths and weaknesses
Where 06851 ranks high
- Voter turnoutBetter than 99% of zip codes
- Internet speedBetter than 99% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than 96% of zip codes
- Household income$132,532 median, better than 93% of zip codes
- Health outlookBetter than 93% of zip codes
Where 06851 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 8% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than only 11% of zip codes
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 14% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 06851
A household needs to earn about $162,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 06851 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $132,532, 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 06851's effective rate of 1.32%, 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 06851
06851 runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 06851.
Who works in 06851, and how
Work in 06851 centers on professional & technical and health care & social. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 73%
- Work from home 20%
- Transit, walk, or bike 7%
Life in 06851
06851 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 78% of zip codes and more parkland per resident than 66% of zip codes. The coast is about 7 minutes away. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 06851 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 06851, month by month
06851 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 06851
The nearest airport, Westchester County, is about 16 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Laguardia, about 35 miles away.
The best schools in and around 06851
Schools across 06851 average a C+, better than 46% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Cranbury Elementary SchoolB− · 40% proficient
- Wolfpit Integrated Arts Elementary SchoolC+ · 38% proficient
- Naramake Elementary SchoolC+ · 37% proficient
Top middle schools
- West Rocks Middle SchoolC+ · 37% proficient
- Nathan Hale Middle SchoolC+ · 36% proficient
Top high schools
- P-tech NorwalkB · 47% proficient
- Norwalk High SchoolB− · 42% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 06851 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
06851 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 06851 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 06851 suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 87% of zip codes, internet is fast and widely advertised, and 20% already work from home.
Common questions about living in 06851
Is 06851 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 06851 ranks 4,604th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on civic engagement, fast internet, and big-city access, 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 06851 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $579,127. The overall cost of living runs about 18% above the national average. Set against a $132,532 median income, cost of living beats 87% of zip codes.
Is 06851 safe?
06851 is safer than 44% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $260 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 06851?
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 06851 good for families?
Schools beat 46% of zip codes, crime safety beats 44%, and childcare runs $1,858 a month.
Compare 06851 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 06851. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 06851 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.
06851 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 06851: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 06851: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 06851: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 06851: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
06851 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.