Best Places12203, NY Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 12203, 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.
12203 ranks 4,282nd of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on transit by a wide margin, and property taxes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 12203
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.
12203's strengths and weaknesses
Where 12203 ranks high
- TransitBetter than 95% of zip codes
- Short commute17.4 minutes each way, better than 93% of zip codes
- Educational attainmentBetter than 93% of zip codes
- Health outlookBetter than 92% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than 91% of zip codes
Where 12203 ranks low
- Low property taxBetter than only 3% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than only 8% of zip codes
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 11% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 14% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$1,308 a month, better than only 15% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 12203
A household needs to earn about $86,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 12203 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $88,585, 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 12203's effective rate of 2.02%, 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 8 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 12203
12203 runs younger 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 12203.
Who works in 12203, and how
Work in 12203 centers on health care & social and education. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 69%
- Work from home 17%
- Transit, walk, or bike 14%
Life in 12203
12203 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 79% of zip codes and more parkland per resident than 80% of zip codes. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 12203 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 12203, month by month
12203 sees roughly 67 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 12203
The nearest airport, Albany International, is about 5 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Bradley International, about 78 miles away.
The best schools in and around 12203
Schools across 12203 average an A−, better than 89% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Guilderland Elementary SchoolA+ · 78% proficient
- Montessori Magnet SchoolA+ · 75% proficient
- Westmere Elementary SchoolA · 65% proficient
Top middle schools
- Farnsworth Middle SchoolA− · 55% proficient
- Sand Creek Middle SchoolB+ · 49% proficient
- William S Hackett Middle SchoolB− · 43% proficient
Top high schools
- Guilderland High SchoolA+ · 98% proficient
- Colonie Central High SchoolA+ · 95% proficient
- Albany High SchoolA · 75% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 12203 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
12203 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 12203 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 12203 suits
Common questions about living in 12203
Is 12203 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 12203 ranks 4,282nd of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on transit, short commutes, and an educated workforce, and lowest on property taxes and noise. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 12203 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $280,561. The overall cost of living runs about 4% below the national average. Set against a $88,585 median income, cost of living beats 68% of zip codes.
Is 12203 safe?
Yes, 12203 is safer than 63% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $304 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 12203?
July highs average about 87 degrees, and January highs near 37 with lows near 18. That works out to about 67 pleasant days a year, more than 20% of zip codes.
Is 12203 good for families?
Schools beat 89% of zip codes, crime safety beats 63%, and childcare runs $1,308 a month.
Compare 12203 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 12203. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 12203 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.
12203 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 12203: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 12203: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 12203: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 12203: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
12203 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.