Best Places12065, NY Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 12065, 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.
12065 ranks 1,014th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on good schools by a wide margin, and car insurance costs are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 12065
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.
12065's strengths and weaknesses
Where 12065 ranks high
- School gradeA+, better than 99% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than 96% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than 96% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than 93% of zip codes
- Health outlookBetter than 92% of zip codes
Where 12065 ranks low
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 14% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than only 14% 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 12065
A household needs to earn about $109,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 12065 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $122,137, 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 12065's effective rate of 1.45%, 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 12065
12065'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 12065.
Who works in 12065, and how
Work in 12065 centers on health care & social and professional & technical. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 78%
- Work from home 19%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in 12065
12065 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 68% of zip codes and more parkland per resident than 69% of zip codes. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 12065 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 12065, month by month
12065 sees roughly 70 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 87 degrees. January highs sit near 37, with lows near 18. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 37° | 27° | 18° |
| April | 62° | 49° | 37° |
| July | 87° | 74° | 63° |
| October | 66° | 54° | 43° |
Flying in and out of 12065
The nearest airport, Albany International, is about 7 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Bradley International, about 84 miles away.
The best schools in and around 12065
Schools across 12065 average an A+, better than 99% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Orenda Elementary SchoolA+ · 92% proficient
- Skano Elementary SchoolA+ · 87% proficient
- Karigon Elementary SchoolA+ · 86% proficient
Top middle schools
- Acadia Middle SchoolA+ · 70% proficient
- Gowana Middle SchoolA+ · 69% proficient
- Koda Middle SchoolA · 61% proficient
Top high schools
- Shenendehowa High SchoolA+ · 98% proficient
- Burnt Hills-ballston Lake Senior High SchoolA+ · 97% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 12065 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
12065 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 12065 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 12065 suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 91% of zip codes, internet is fast and widely advertised, and 19% already work from home.
Common questions about living in 12065
Is 12065 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 12065 ranks 1,014th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on good schools, low crime, and health care access, and lowest on car insurance costs and property taxes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 12065 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $383,572. The overall cost of living runs about 4% above the national average. Set against a $122,137 median income, cost of living beats 91% of zip codes.
Is 12065 safe?
Yes, 12065 is safer than 96% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $171 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 12065?
July highs average about 87 degrees, and January highs near 37 with lows near 18. That works out to about 70 pleasant days a year, more than 25% of zip codes.
Is 12065 good for families?
Schools beat 99% of zip codes, crime safety beats 96%, and childcare runs $1,308 a month.
Compare 12065 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 12065. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 12065 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.
12065 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 12065: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 12065: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 12065: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 12065: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
12065 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.