Best Places10281, NY Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 10281, 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.
10281 ranks 3rd of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on a strong job market by a wide margin, and taxes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 10281
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.
10281's strengths and weaknesses
Where 10281 ranks high
- Local economyBetter than 99% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than 99% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than 99% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than 99% of zip codes
- Health outlookBetter than 99% of zip codes
Where 10281 ranks low
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 1% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than only 1% of zip codes
- Tree shadeBetter than only 2% of zip codes
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 5% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$1,344 a month, better than only 12% of zip codes
Who lives in 10281
10281's age mix sits close to the national median, and households here run smaller than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 10281.
Who works in 10281, and how
Work in 10281 centers on finance & insurance and professional & technical. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 12%
- Work from home 20%
- Transit, walk, or bike 68%
Life in 10281
The coast is about 10 minutes away. Distance to the water changes a lot across 10281, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 10281, month by month
10281 sees roughly 75 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 88 degrees. January highs sit near 43, with lows near 28. The comfortable stretch runs May, June, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 43° | 35° | 28° |
| April | 65° | 53° | 44° |
| July | 88° | 78° | 70° |
| October | 69° | 60° | 52° |
Flying in and out of 10281
Newark Liberty International sits about 8 miles away. It is a large hub and boarded 23.5 million passengers in 2025, with 242 nonstop destinations.
The best schools in and around 10281
Schools across 10281 average an A+, better than 98% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Brooklyn School Of InquiryA+ · 93% proficient
Top middle schools
- Mark Twain Is 239 For The Gifted And TalentedA+ · 83% proficient
Top high schools
- Professional Pathways High SchoolA− · 60% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 10281 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
10281 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 10281 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 10281
Is 10281 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 10281 ranks 3rd of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on a strong job market, walkability, and transit, and lowest on taxes and noise. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 10281 safe?
Yes, 10281 is safer than 68% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $255 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 10281?
July highs average about 88 degrees, and January highs near 43 with lows near 28. That works out to about 75 pleasant days a year, more than 36% of zip codes.
Compare 10281 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 10281. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 10281 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.
10281 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 10281: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 10281: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 10281: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 10281: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
10281 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.
- 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.