Best Places11980, NY Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 11980, 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.
11980 ranks 7,866th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on good schools by a wide margin, and an overheated housing market is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 11980
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.
11980's strengths and weaknesses
Where 11980 ranks high
- School gradeA, better than 95% of zip codes
- Low vacancyBetter than 94% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than 93% of zip codes
- Heat safetyBetter than 93% of zip codes
- Internet speedBetter than 92% of zip codes
Where 11980 ranks low
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 6% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than only 6% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$1,476 a month, better than only 7% of zip codes
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 9% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than only 10% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 11980
A household needs to earn about $141,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 11980 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $114,857, 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 11980's effective rate of 1.81%, 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 7 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 11980
11980'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 11980.
Who works in 11980, and how
Work in 11980 centers on health care & social and education. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 85%
- Work from home 8%
- Transit, walk, or bike 7%
Life in 11980
The coast is about 12 minutes away. Distance to the water changes a lot across 11980, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 11980, month by month
11980 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 11980
The nearest airport, Long Island MacArthur, is about 10 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is John F Kennedy International, about 47 miles away.
The best schools in and around 11980
Schools across 11980 average an A, better than 95% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- C E Walters SchoolA · 63% proficient
- Frank P Long Intermediate SchoolB− · 43% proficient
Top middle schools
- Longwood Junior High SchoolA+ · 78% proficient
- Longwood Middle SchoolC · 32% proficient
Top high schools
- Patchogue-medford High SchoolA+ · 92% proficient
- Longwood High SchoolA+ · 91% proficient
- Bellport Senior High SchoolA+ · 85% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 11980 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
11980 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 11980 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 11980
Is 11980 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 11980 ranks 7,866th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on good schools, few empty homes, and big-city access, and lowest on an overheated housing market and property taxes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 11980 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $473,714. The overall cost of living runs about 21% above the national average. Set against a $114,857 median income, cost of living beats 71% of zip codes.
Is 11980 safe?
Yes, 11980 is safer than 81% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $226 per resident a year.
Compare 11980 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 11980. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 11980 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.
11980 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 11980: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 11980: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 11980: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 11980: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
11980 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.