Best Places11209, NY Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 11209, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. The coast is close, and the measures below put a number on how close. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
11209 ranks 3,116th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on big-city access by a wide margin, and taxes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 11209
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.
11209's strengths and weaknesses
Where 11209 ranks high
- Big-city accessBetter than 99% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than 99% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than 99% of zip codes
- Cell coverageBetter than 99% of zip codes
- School gradeA, better than 97% of zip codes
Where 11209 ranks low
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 1% of zip codes
- Short commute44.5 minutes each way, better than only 2% of zip codes
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 2% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than only 3% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 58 pleasant days a year, better than only 5% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 11209
A household needs to earn about $249,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 11209 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $100,338, 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 11209's effective rate of 0.74%, 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 11209
11209'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 11209.
Who works in 11209, and how
Work in 11209 centers on health care & social and education. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 27%
- Work from home 22%
- Transit, walk, or bike 51%
Life in 11209
11209 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 77% of zip codes and more late-night spots per resident than 90% of zip codes. The coast is about 2 minutes away. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 11209 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 11209, month by month
11209 sees roughly 58 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 91 degrees. January highs sit near 45, with lows near 26. The comfortable stretch runs May, June, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 45° | 35° | 26° |
| April | 67° | 54° | 44° |
| July | 91° | 80° | 70° |
| October | 71° | 60° | 50° |
Flying in and out of 11209
Newark Liberty International sits about 9 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 11209
Schools across 11209 average an A, better than 97% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Brooklyn School Of InquiryA+ · 93% proficient
- Ps 185 Walter KassenbrockA+ · 80% proficient
- Ps/is 104 Fort Hamilton School (the)A+ · 75% proficient
Top middle schools
- Christa Mcauliffe School (the) /is 187A+ · 95% proficient
- Jhs 259 William MckinleyA+ · 68% proficient
- Madeleine Brennan School (the)A · 66% proficient
Top high schools
- Fort Hamilton High SchoolA+ · 92% proficient
- Professional Pathways High SchoolA− · 60% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 11209 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
11209 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 11209 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 11209 suits
Common questions about living in 11209
Is 11209 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 11209 ranks 3,116th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on big-city access, walkability, and transit, and lowest on taxes and long commutes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 11209 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $958,342. The overall cost of living runs about 33% above the national average. Set against a $100,338 median income, cost of living beats 40% of zip codes.
Is 11209 safe?
Yes, 11209 is safer than 76% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $248 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 11209?
July highs average about 91 degrees, and January highs near 45 with lows near 26. That works out to about 58 pleasant days a year, more than 5% of zip codes.
Is 11209 good for families?
Schools beat 97% of zip codes, crime safety beats 76%, and childcare runs $1,344 a month.
Compare 11209 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 11209. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 11209 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.
11209 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 11209: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 11209: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 11209: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 11209: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
11209 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.