Best Places06853, CT Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 06853, 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.
06853 ranks 1,788th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on an educated workforce by a wide margin, and an overheated housing market is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 06853
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.
06853's strengths and weaknesses
Where 06853 ranks high
- Educational attainmentBetter than 99% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than 99% of zip codes
- Household income$243,511 median, better than 99% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than 99% of zip codes
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 99% of zip codes
Where 06853 ranks low
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 1% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$1,858 a month, better than only 2% of zip codes
- Short commute40.4 minutes each way, better than only 4% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 7% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than only 12% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 06853
A household needs to earn about $424,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 06853 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $243,511, 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 06853's effective rate of 1.33%, 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 06853
06853 runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 06853.
Who works in 06853, and how
Work in 06853 centers on finance & insurance and professional & technical. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 45%
- Work from home 26%
- Transit, walk, or bike 28%
Life in 06853
The coast is about 1 minutes away. Distance to the water changes a lot across 06853, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 06853, month by month
06853 sees roughly 65 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 86 degrees. January highs sit near 41, with lows near 24. The comfortable stretch runs May, June, and August through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 41° | 32° | 24° |
| April | 62° | 50° | 40° |
| July | 86° | 76° | 66° |
| October | 68° | 57° | 47° |
Flying in and out of 06853
The nearest airport, Westchester County, is about 14 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Laguardia, about 30 miles away.
The best schools in and around 06853
Schools across 06853 average a B, better than 70% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Tokeneke Elementary SchoolA+ · 82% proficient
- Rowayton SchoolA− · 60% proficient
- Concord Magnet SchoolB · 45% proficient
Top middle schools
- Middlesex Middle SchoolA+ · 76% proficient
- Roton Middle SchoolB · 44% proficient
Top high schools
- Darien High SchoolA · 78% proficient
- Brien Mcmahon High SchoolB− · 43% proficient
- Norwalk High SchoolB− · 42% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 06853 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
06853 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 06853 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 06853
Is 06853 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 06853 ranks 1,788th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on an educated workforce, civic engagement, and high incomes, and lowest on an overheated housing market and childcare costs. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 06853 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $1,513,029. The overall cost of living runs about 61% above the national average. Set against a $243,511 median income, cost of living beats 99% of zip codes.
Is 06853 safe?
Yes, 06853 is safer than 57% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $218 per resident a year.
Compare 06853 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 06853. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 06853 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.
06853 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 06853: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 06853: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 06853: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 06853: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
06853 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.