Best Places10979, NY Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 10979, 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.
10979 ranks 4,077th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on fast internet by a wide margin, and an overheated housing market is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 10979
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.
10979's strengths and weaknesses
Where 10979 ranks high
- Internet speedBetter than 99% of zip codes
- Low vacancyBetter than 98% of zip codes
- Tree shadeBetter than 98% of zip codes
- School gradeA, better than 97% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than 97% of zip codes
Where 10979 ranks low
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 1% of zip codes
- Short commute43.2 minutes each way, better than only 2% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than only 3% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than only 5% of zip codes
- Cell coverageBetter than only 9% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 10979
A household needs to earn about $123,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 10979 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $145,455, so a typical household can afford the median home outright.
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 10979's effective rate of 2.09%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Who lives in 10979
10979 runs older than the country, though fewer residents are over 65 than the national share, 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 10979.
Who works in 10979, and how
Work in 10979 centers on health care & social and manufacturing. Unemployment is low, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 74%
- Work from home 20%
- Transit, walk, or bike 6%
Life in 10979
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 10979.
What the weather is like in 10979, month by month
10979 sees roughly 68 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 87 degrees. January highs sit near 40, with lows near 20. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 40° | 30° | 20° |
| April | 64° | 50° | 38° |
| July | 87° | 74° | 62° |
| October | 68° | 54° | 42° |
Flying in and out of 10979
The nearest airport, New York Stewart International, is about 24 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Newark Liberty International, about 35 miles away.
The best schools in and around 10979
Schools across 10979 average an A, better than 97% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Greenwood Lake Elementary SchoolA+ · 75% proficient
Top middle schools
- Greenwood Lake Middle SchoolA− · 58% proficient
Top high schools
- George F Baker High SchoolA+ · 90% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 10979 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
10979 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 10979 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 10979
Is 10979 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 10979 ranks 4,077th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on fast internet, few empty homes, and tree cover, and lowest on an overheated housing market and long commutes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 10979 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $400,000. The overall cost of living runs about 25% above the national average. Set against a $145,455 median income, cost of living beats 82% of zip codes.
Is 10979 safe?
Yes, 10979 is safer than 86% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $198 per resident a year.
Compare 10979 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 10979. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 10979 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.
10979 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 10979: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 10979: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 10979: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 10979: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
10979 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.