Best Places11721, NY Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 11721, 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.
11721 ranks 403rd of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on high incomes by a wide margin, and property taxes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 11721
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.
11721's strengths and weaknesses
Where 11721 ranks high
- Household income$203,992 median, better than 99% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than 99% of zip codes
- School gradeA+, better than 99% of zip codes
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 98% of zip codes
- Internet speedBetter than 98% of zip codes
Where 11721 ranks low
- Low property taxBetter than only 5% 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
- Short commute35.7 minutes each way, better than only 10% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than only 18% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 11721
A household needs to earn about $239,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 11721 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $203,992, 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 11721's effective rate of 1.89%, 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 11721
11721 runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 11721.
Who works in 11721, and how
Work in 11721 centers on health care & social and professional & technical. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 63%
- Work from home 22%
- Transit, walk, or bike 15%
Life in 11721
The coast is about 9 minutes away. Distance to the water changes a lot across 11721, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 11721, month by month
11721 sees roughly 75 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 86 degrees. January highs sit near 44, with lows near 26. The comfortable stretch runs May, June, and August through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 44° | 35° | 26° |
| April | 62° | 51° | 42° |
| July | 86° | 77° | 69° |
| October | 69° | 59° | 50° |
Flying in and out of 11721
The nearest airport, Long Island MacArthur, is about 16 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Laguardia, about 27 miles away.
The best schools in and around 11721
Schools across 11721 average an A+, better than 99% of zip codes.
Top middle schools
- Oldfield Middle SchoolA+ · 71% proficient
Top high schools
- Harborfields High SchoolA+ · 100% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 11721 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
11721 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 11721 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 11721
Is 11721 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 11721 ranks 403rd of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on high incomes, health care access, and good schools, 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 11721 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $794,644. The overall cost of living runs about 30% above the national average. Set against a $203,992 median income, cost of living beats 98% of zip codes.
Is 11721 safe?
Yes, 11721 is safer than 90% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $191 per resident a year.
Compare 11721 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 11721. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 11721 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.
11721 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 11721: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 11721: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 11721: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 11721: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
11721 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.