Best Places11720, NY Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 11720, 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.
11720 ranks 2,953rd of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on fast internet by a wide margin, and property taxes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 11720
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.
11720's strengths and weaknesses
Where 11720 ranks high
- Internet speedBetter than 97% of zip codes
- School gradeA+, better than 97% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than 95% of zip codes
- Household income$138,225 median, better than 94% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than 92% of zip codes
Where 11720 ranks low
- Low property taxBetter than only 2% of zip codes
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 7% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$1,476 a month, better than only 7% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 13% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than only 18% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 11720
A household needs to earn about $161,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 11720 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $138,225, 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 11720's effective rate of 2.10%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices, buying tends to cost more than renting for about the first 10 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 11720
11720's age mix sits close to the national median, 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 11720.
Who works in 11720, and how
Work in 11720 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 85%
- Work from home 12%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in 11720
11720 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 71% of zip codes and more parkland per resident than 80% of zip codes. The coast is about 12 minutes away. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 11720 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 11720, month by month
11720 sees roughly 69 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 86 degrees. January highs sit near 43, with lows near 25. The comfortable stretch runs May, June, and August through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 43° | 34° | 25° |
| April | 62° | 50° | 41° |
| July | 86° | 76° | 68° |
| October | 69° | 58° | 49° |
Flying in and out of 11720
The nearest airport, Long Island MacArthur, is about 5 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is John F Kennedy International, about 40 miles away.
The best schools in and around 11720
Schools across 11720 average an A+, better than 97% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Nassakeag Elementary SchoolA+ · 90% proficient
- William Sidney Mount Elementary SchoolA+ · 78% proficient
- Arrowhead Elementary SchoolA+ · 78% proficient
Top middle schools
- Robert Cushman Murphy Junior High SchoolA+ · 75% proficient
- Samoset Middle SchoolA+ · 68% proficient
- Selden Middle SchoolA · 65% proficient
Top high schools
- Ward Melville Senior High SchoolA+ · 97% proficient
- Sachem High School NorthA+ · 96% proficient
- Centereach High SchoolA+ · 90% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 11720 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
11720 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 11720 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 11720 suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 84% of zip codes, internet is fast and widely advertised, and 12% already work from home.
Common questions about living in 11720
Is 11720 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 11720 ranks 2,953rd of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on fast internet, good schools, and big-city access, and lowest on property taxes and car insurance costs. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 11720 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $524,601. The overall cost of living runs about 21% above the national average. Set against a $138,225 median income, cost of living beats 84% of zip codes.
Is 11720 safe?
Yes, 11720 is safer than 92% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $181 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 11720?
July highs average about 86 degrees, and January highs near 43 with lows near 25. That works out to about 69 pleasant days a year, more than 23% of zip codes.
Is 11720 good for families?
Schools beat 97% of zip codes, crime safety beats 92%, and childcare runs $1,476 a month.
Compare 11720 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 11720. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 11720 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.
11720 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 11720: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 11720: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 11720: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 11720: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
11720 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.