Best Places12514, NY Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 12514, 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.
12514 ranks 8,196th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on good schools by a wide margin, and an overheated housing market is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 12514
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.
12514's strengths and weaknesses
Where 12514 ranks high
- School gradeA+, better than 98% of zip codes
- Tree shadeBetter than 95% of zip codes
- Heat safetyBetter than 94% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than 91% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than 88% of zip codes
Where 12514 ranks low
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 4% of zip codes
- Short commute36.1 minutes each way, better than only 9% of zip codes
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 11% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than only 15% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$1,308 a month, better than only 15% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 12514
A household needs to earn about $116,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 12514 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $101,624, so buying stretches a typical household.
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 12514's effective rate of 1.31%, 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 12514
12514 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 12514.
Who works in 12514, and how
Work in 12514 centers on education and retail trade. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 77%
- Work from home 11%
- Transit, walk, or bike 12%
Life in 12514
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 12514.
What the weather is like in 12514, month by month
12514 sees roughly 99 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 12514
The nearest airport, New York Stewart International, is about 31 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Bradley International, about 56 miles away.
The best schools in and around 12514
Schools across 12514 average an A+, better than 98% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Chancellor Livingston Elementary SchoolA · 70% proficient
- Netherwood SchoolA · 65% proficient
Top middle schools
- Bulkeley Middle SchoolA+ · 83% proficient
- Millbrook Middle SchoolA− · 55% proficient
- Haviland Middle SchoolB · 47% proficient
Top high schools
- Rhinebeck Senior High SchoolA+ · 98% proficient
- Franklin D Roosevelt Senior High SchoolA+ · 94% proficient
- Stissing Mountain Junior/senior High SchoolA+ · 94% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 12514 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
12514 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 12514 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 12514
Is 12514 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 12514 ranks 8,196th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on good schools, tree cover, and heat safety, and lowest on an overheated housing market and long commutes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 12514 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $414,075. The overall cost of living runs about 27% above the national average. Set against a $101,624 median income, cost of living beats 52% of zip codes.
Is 12514 safe?
Yes, 12514 is safer than 82% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $220 per resident a year.
Compare 12514 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 12514. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 12514 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.
12514 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 12514: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 12514: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 12514: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 12514: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
12514 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.