Best Places12090, NY Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 12090, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. This page is for people who live here or already know they want to. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
12090 ranks 11,972nd 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 12090
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.
12090's strengths and weaknesses
Where 12090 ranks high
- School gradeA+, better than 98% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than 90% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than 86% of zip codes
- Tree shadeBetter than 83% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than 75% of zip codes
Where 12090 ranks low
- Low property taxBetter than only 2% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$1,317 a month, better than only 14% 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
What it costs to buy a home in 12090
A household needs to earn about $55,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 12090 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $76,267, 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 12090's effective rate of 2.10%, 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 10 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 12090
12090 runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 12090.
Who works in 12090, and how
Work in 12090 centers on health care & social and manufacturing. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 78%
- Work from home 13%
- Transit, walk, or bike 9%
Life in 12090
12090 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 98% of zip codes and more parkland per resident than 95% of zip codes. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 12090 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 12090, month by month
12090 sees roughly 72 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 84 degrees. January highs sit near 35, with lows near 16. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 35° | 26° | 16° |
| April | 60° | 46° | 34° |
| July | 84° | 71° | 58° |
| October | 65° | 52° | 40° |
Flying in and out of 12090
The nearest airport, Albany International, is about 25 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Bradley International, about 74 miles away.
The best schools in and around 12090
Schools across 12090 average an A+, better than 98% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Tamarac Elementary SchoolA · 63% proficient
- Hoosick Falls Elementary SchoolA · 63% proficient
Top high schools
- Hoosick Falls High SchoolA+ · 91% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 12090 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
12090 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 12090 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 12090
Is 12090 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 12090 ranks 11,972nd of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on good schools, clean air, and low crime, and lowest on property taxes and childcare costs. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 12090 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $179,052. The overall cost of living runs about 11% below the national average. Set against a $76,267 median income, cost of living beats 52% of zip codes.
Is 12090 safe?
Yes, 12090 is safer than 86% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $212 per resident a year.
Compare 12090 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 12090. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 12090 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.
12090 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 12090: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 12090: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 12090: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 12090: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
12090 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.