Best Places12550, NY Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 12550, 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.
12550 ranks 16,477th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on big-city access by a wide margin, and property taxes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 12550
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.
12550's strengths and weaknesses
Where 12550 ranks high
- Big-city accessBetter than 94% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than 92% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than 88% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than 85% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than 83% of zip codes
Where 12550 ranks low
- Low property taxBetter than only 3% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 4% of zip codes
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 7% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than only 8% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$1,308 a month, better than only 15% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 12550
A household needs to earn about $107,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 12550 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $89,604, 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 12550's effective rate of 2.01%, 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 9 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 12550
12550'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 12550.
Who works in 12550, and how
Work in 12550 centers on health care & social and retail trade. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 76%
- Work from home 12%
- Transit, walk, or bike 13%
Life in 12550
12550 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 80% of zip codes and more parkland per resident than 67% of zip codes. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 12550 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 12550, month by month
12550 sees roughly 74 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 85 degrees. January highs sit near 37, with lows near 23. The comfortable stretch runs May through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 37° | 30° | 23° |
| April | 60° | 50° | 41° |
| July | 85° | 75° | 66° |
| October | 65° | 55° | 47° |
Flying in and out of 12550
The nearest airport, New York Stewart International, is about 4 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Laguardia, about 52 miles away.
The best schools in and around 12550
Schools across 12550 average a B−, better than 63% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- New Windsor SchoolA · 63% proficient
- Leptondale Elementary SchoolA− · 60% proficient
- East Coldenham Elementary SchoolA− · 60% proficient
Top middle schools
- Rombout Middle SchoolA+ · 68% proficient
- Marlboro Middle SchoolB+ · 51% proficient
- Heritage Middle SchoolD · 23% proficient
Top high schools
- Wallkill Senior High SchoolA+ · 95% proficient
- Valley Central High SchoolA+ · 95% proficient
- Marlboro Central High SchoolA+ · 94% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 12550 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
12550 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 12550 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 12550 suits
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 12% already work from home.
Retirees
Set weather, quiet, and health care weights on the map to test the fit.
Common questions about living in 12550
Is 12550 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 12550 ranks 16,477th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on big-city access, walkability, and clean air, and lowest on property taxes and an overheated housing market. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 12550 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $352,158. The overall cost of living runs about 11% above the national average. Set against a $89,604 median income, cost of living beats 43% of zip codes.
Is 12550 safe?
12550 is safer than 40% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $394 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 12550?
July highs average about 85 degrees, and January highs near 37 with lows near 23. That works out to about 74 pleasant days a year, more than 33% of zip codes.
Is 12550 good for families?
Schools beat 63% of zip codes, crime safety beats 40%, and childcare runs $1,308 a month.
Compare 12550 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 12550. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 12550 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.
12550 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 12550: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 12550: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 12550: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 12550: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
12550 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.