Best Places12009, NY Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 12009, 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.
12009 ranks 1,961st 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 12009
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.
12009's strengths and weaknesses
Where 12009 ranks high
- School gradeA, better than 97% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than 97% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than 94% of zip codes
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 92% of zip codes
- Educational attainmentBetter than 92% of zip codes
Where 12009 ranks low
- Low property taxBetter than only 8% of zip codes
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 15% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$1,308 a month, better than only 15% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than only 18% of zip codes
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 18% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 12009
A household needs to earn about $111,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 12009 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $121,694, so a typical household can afford the median home outright.
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 12009's effective rate of 1.67%, 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 12009
12009 runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 12009.
Who works in 12009, and how
Work in 12009 centers on health care & social and public administration. Unemployment is low, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 77%
- Work from home 17%
- Transit, walk, or bike 6%
Life in 12009
12009 has more parkland per resident than 90% of zip codes. That concentrates in some parts of 12009 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 12009, month by month
12009 sees roughly 73 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 84 degrees. January highs sit near 33, with lows near 21. The comfortable stretch runs May, June, and August through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 33° | 28° | 21° |
| April | 57° | 50° | 41° |
| July | 84° | 78° | 69° |
| October | 62° | 55° | 46° |
Flying in and out of 12009
The nearest airport, Albany International, is about 11 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Bradley International, about 86 miles away.
The best schools in and around 12009
Schools across 12009 average an A, better than 97% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Voorheesville Elementary SchoolA+ · 86% proficient
- Altamont Elementary SchoolA+ · 78% proficient
- Lynnwood Elementary SchoolA+ · 75% proficient
Top middle schools
- Voorheesville Middle SchoolA+ · 70% proficient
- Farnsworth Middle SchoolA− · 55% proficient
- Schalmont Middle SchoolB+ · 48% proficient
Top high schools
- Clayton A Bouton High SchoolA+ · 98% proficient
- Guilderland High SchoolA+ · 98% proficient
- Schalmont High SchoolA+ · 94% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 12009 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
12009 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 12009 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 12009
Is 12009 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 12009 ranks 1,961st of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on good schools, health care access, and low crime, 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 12009 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $380,089. The overall cost of living runs about 2% below the national average. Set against a $121,694 median income, cost of living beats 92% of zip codes.
Is 12009 safe?
Yes, 12009 is safer than 94% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $173 per resident a year.
Compare 12009 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 12009. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 12009 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.
12009 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 12009: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 12009: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 12009: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 12009: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
12009 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.