Best Places11946, NY Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 11946, 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.
11946 ranks 6,144th 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 11946
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.
11946's strengths and weaknesses
Where 11946 ranks high
- Internet speedBetter than 98% of zip codes
- Household income$137,152 median, better than 94% of zip codes
- School gradeA−, better than 92% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than 89% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than 87% of zip codes
Where 11946 ranks low
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 5% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$1,476 a month, better than only 7% of zip codes
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 8% of zip codes
- Low vacancyBetter than only 8% of zip codes
- Short commute34.8 minutes each way, better than only 11% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 11946
A household needs to earn about $209,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 11946 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $137,152, 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 11946's effective rate of 1.10%, 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 11946
11946 runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 11946.
Who works in 11946, and how
Work in 11946 centers on professional & technical and construction. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 79%
- Work from home 10%
- Transit, walk, or bike 11%
Life in 11946
11946 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 81% of zip codes and more parkland per resident than 73% of zip codes. The coast is about 7 minutes away. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 11946 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 11946, month by month
11946 sees roughly 79 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 84 degrees. January highs sit near 43, with lows near 22. The comfortable stretch runs May through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 43° | 33° | 22° |
| April | 59° | 48° | 37° |
| July | 84° | 74° | 64° |
| October | 68° | 56° | 44° |
Flying in and out of 11946
The nearest airport, Long Island MacArthur, is about 31 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is John F Kennedy International, about 68 miles away.
The best schools in and around 11946
Schools across 11946 average an A−, better than 92% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Mattituck-cutchogue Elementary SchoolA+ · 78% proficient
- East Quogue SchoolA+ · 75% proficient
- Hampton Bays Elementary SchoolA− · 60% proficient
Top middle schools
- Hampton Bays Middle SchoolB · 45% proficient
- Riverhead Middle SchoolC · 34% proficient
Top high schools
- Hampton Bays High SchoolA+ · 98% proficient
- Southampton High SchoolA+ · 94% proficient
- Mattituck Junior-senior High SchoolA+ · 82% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 11946 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
11946 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 11946 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 11946
Is 11946 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 11946 ranks 6,144th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on fast internet, high incomes, and good schools, and lowest on an overheated housing market and childcare costs. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 11946 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $766,786. The overall cost of living runs about 50% above the national average. Set against a $137,152 median income, cost of living beats 66% of zip codes.
Is 11946 safe?
Yes, 11946 is safer than 87% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $205 per resident a year.
Compare 11946 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 11946. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 11946 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.
11946 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 11946: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 11946: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 11946: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 11946: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
11946 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.