Best Places12020, NY Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 12020, 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.
12020 ranks 2,331st of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on low crime by a wide margin, and childcare costs are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 12020
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.
12020's strengths and weaknesses
Where 12020 ranks high
- Crime safetyBetter than 97% of zip codes
- School gradeA, better than 96% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than 93% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than 91% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than 89% of zip codes
Where 12020 ranks low
- Cheap childcare$1,308 a month, better than only 15% of zip codes
- Cheap car insuranceBetter 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
- Low property taxBetter than only 21% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 12020
A household needs to earn about $95,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 12020 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $116,146, 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 12020's effective rate of 1.26%, 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 9 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 12020
12020 runs older than the country, 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 12020.
Who works in 12020, and how
Work in 12020 centers on education and health care & social. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 83%
- Work from home 14%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in 12020
12020 has more parkland per resident than 72% of zip codes. That concentrates in some parts of 12020 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 12020, month by month
12020 sees roughly 74 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 12020
The nearest airport, Albany International, is about 18 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Bradley International, about 95 miles away.
The best schools in and around 12020
Schools across 12020 average an A, better than 96% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Caroline Street Elementary SchoolA+ · 90% proficient
- Charlton Heights Elementary SchoolA+ · 83% proficient
- Francis L Stevens Elementary SchoolA+ · 80% proficient
Top middle schools
- Maple Avenue Middle SchoolA · 60% proficient
- Richard H O'rourke Middle SchoolA · 59% proficient
- Ballston Spa Middle SchoolA− · 55% proficient
Top high schools
- Saratoga Springs High SchoolA+ · 98% proficient
- Burnt Hills-ballston Lake Senior High SchoolA+ · 97% proficient
- Ballston Spa Senior High SchoolA+ · 93% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 12020 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
12020 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 12020 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 12020 suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 84% of zip codes and 14% already work from home.
Common questions about living in 12020
Is 12020 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 12020 ranks 2,331st of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on low crime, good schools, and clean air, and lowest on childcare costs 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 12020 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $343,531. The overall cost of living runs about 7% above the national average. Set against a $116,146 median income, cost of living beats 84% of zip codes.
Is 12020 safe?
Yes, 12020 is safer than 97% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $161 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 12020?
July highs average about 84 degrees, and January highs near 33 with lows near 21. That works out to about 74 pleasant days a year, more than 34% of zip codes.
Is 12020 good for families?
Schools beat 96% of zip codes, crime safety beats 97%, and childcare runs $1,308 a month.
Compare 12020 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 12020. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 12020 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.
12020 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 12020: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 12020: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 12020: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 12020: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
12020 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.