Best Places12471, NY Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 12471, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Several measures below read low, and the ranked lists name which ones. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
12471 ranks 17,069th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on few empty homes by a wide margin, and a weak job market ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 12471
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.
12471's strengths and weaknesses
Where 12471 ranks high
- Low vacancyBetter than 98% of zip codes
- Tree shadeBetter than 98% of zip codes
- Heat safetyBetter than 96% of zip codes
- School gradeA−, better than 95% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than 91% of zip codes
Where 12471 ranks low
- Local economyBetter than only 2% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than only 4% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than only 5% of zip codes
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 12% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$1,308 a month, better than only 15% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 12471
A household needs to earn about $74,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 12471 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $90,000, 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 12471's effective rate of 1.96%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Who lives in 12471
12471 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 12471.
Who works in 12471, and how
Work in 12471 centers on finance & insurance and health care & social. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 46%
- Work from home 50%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in 12471
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 12471.
What the weather is like in 12471, month by month
12471 sees roughly 98 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 85 degrees. January highs sit near 37, with lows near 21. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 37° | 28° | 21° |
| April | 61° | 48° | 38° |
| July | 85° | 73° | 62° |
| October | 65° | 53° | 44° |
Flying in and out of 12471
The nearest airport, New York Stewart International, is about 23 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Bradley International, about 70 miles away.
The best schools in and around 12471
Schools across 12471 average an A−, better than 95% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Robert R Graves SchoolA+ · 80% proficient
Top middle schools
- New Paltz Middle SchoolA− · 55% proficient
- Rondout Valley Intermediate SchoolB+ · 48% proficient
- Rondout Valley Junior High SchoolC+ · 38% proficient
Top high schools
- New Paltz Senior High SchoolA+ · 97% proficient
- Kingston High SchoolA+ · 92% proficient
- Highland High SchoolA+ · 88% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 12471 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
12471 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 12471 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 12471
Is 12471 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 12471 ranks 17,069th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on few empty homes, tree cover, and heat safety, and lowest on a weak job market and property taxes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 12471 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $244,200. The overall cost of living runs about 11% above the national average. Set against a $90,000 median income, cost of living beats 39% of zip codes.
Is 12471 safe?
12471 is safer than 26% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $417 per resident a year.
Compare 12471 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 12471. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 12471 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.
12471 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 12471: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 12471: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 12471: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 12471: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
12471 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.