Best Places11778, NY Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 11778, 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.
11778 ranks 3,992nd of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on good schools by a wide margin, and property taxes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 11778
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.
11778's strengths and weaknesses
Where 11778 ranks high
- School gradeA+, better than 97% of zip codes
- Internet speedBetter than 97% of zip codes
- Heat safetyBetter than 94% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than 93% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than 93% of zip codes
Where 11778 ranks low
- Low property taxBetter than only 5% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$1,476 a month, better than only 7% of zip codes
- Short commute36.4 minutes each way, better than only 8% of zip codes
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 8% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 12% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 11778
A household needs to earn about $137,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 11778 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $116,476, 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 11778's effective rate of 1.87%, 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 8 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 11778
11778's age mix sits close to the national median.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 11778.
Who works in 11778, and how
Work in 11778 centers on education and health care & social. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 86%
- Work from home 10%
- Transit, walk, or bike 5%
Life in 11778
11778 has more parkland per resident than 92% of zip codes. The coast is about 1 minutes away. That concentrates in some parts of 11778 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 11778, month by month
11778 sees roughly 72 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 86 degrees. January highs sit near 44, 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 | 44° | 34° | 25° |
| April | 61° | 50° | 40° |
| July | 86° | 76° | 67° |
| October | 69° | 58° | 48° |
Flying in and out of 11778
The nearest airport, Long Island MacArthur, is about 14 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is John F Kennedy International, about 49 miles away.
The best schools in and around 11778
Schools across 11778 average an A+, better than 97% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Wading River SchoolA+ · 85% proficient
- Joseph A Edgar Imtermediate SchoolA · 70% proficient
Top middle schools
- Albert G Prodell Middle SchoolA+ · 75% proficient
- Rocky Point Middle SchoolA+ · 70% proficient
Top high schools
- Shoreham-wading River High SchoolA+ · 98% proficient
- Rocky Point High SchoolA+ · 94% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 11778 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
11778 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 11778 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 11778
Is 11778 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 11778 ranks 3,992nd of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on good schools, fast internet, and heat safety, and lowest on property taxes and childcare costs. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 11778 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $456,306. The overall cost of living runs about 18% above the national average. Set against a $116,476 median income, cost of living beats 73% of zip codes.
Is 11778 safe?
Yes, 11778 is safer than 93% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $183 per resident a year.
Compare 11778 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 11778. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 11778 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.
11778 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 11778: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 11778: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 11778: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 11778: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
11778 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.