Best Places06897, CT Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 06897, 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.
06897 ranks 762nd 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 06897
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.
06897's strengths and weaknesses
Where 06897 ranks high
- Voter turnoutBetter than 99% of zip codes
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 99% of zip codes
- Household income$224,117 median, better than 99% of zip codes
- Educational attainmentBetter than 99% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than 98% of zip codes
Where 06897 ranks low
- Cheap childcare$1,858 a month, better than only 2% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 5% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 7% of zip codes
- Short commute35.9 minutes each way, better than only 9% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than only 11% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 06897
A household needs to earn about $279,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 06897 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $224,117, 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 06897's effective rate of 1.56%, 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 06897
06897 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 06897.
Who works in 06897, and how
Work in 06897 centers on professional & technical and finance & insurance. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 56%
- Work from home 33%
- Transit, walk, or bike 11%
Life in 06897
06897 has more parkland per resident than 69% of zip codes. The coast is about 15 minutes away. That concentrates in some parts of 06897 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 06897, month by month
06897 sees roughly 69 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 06897
The nearest airport, Westchester County, is about 17 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Laguardia, about 37 miles away.
The best schools in and around 06897
Schools across 06897 average an A+, better than 98% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Weston Intermediate SchoolA+ · 74% proficient
- Cider Mill SchoolA · 68% proficient
- Redding Elementary SchoolA · 68% proficient
Top middle schools
- Middlebrook SchoolA+ · 74% proficient
- John Read Middle SchoolA+ · 70% proficient
- Weston Middle SchoolA · 66% proficient
Top high schools
- Weston High SchoolA+ · 82% proficient
- Wilton High SchoolA · 79% proficient
- Joel Barlow High SchoolA · 68% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 06897 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
06897 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 06897 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 06897
Is 06897 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 06897 ranks 762nd of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on civic engagement, what local pay buys, and high incomes, and lowest on childcare costs and an overheated housing market. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 06897 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $966,917. The overall cost of living runs about 24% above the national average. Set against a $224,117 median income, cost of living beats 100% of zip codes.
Is 06897 safe?
06897 is safer than 46% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $248 per resident a year.
Compare 06897 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 06897. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 06897 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.
06897 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 06897: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 06897: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 06897: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 06897: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
06897 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.