Best Places12566, NY Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 12566, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Local pay runs high here, and housing takes the biggest bite out of it. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
12566 ranks 5,736th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on heat safety by a wide margin, and property taxes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 12566
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.
12566's strengths and weaknesses
Where 12566 ranks high
- Heat safetyBetter than 92% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than 91% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than 90% of zip codes
- Household income$116,971 median, better than 89% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than 88% of zip codes
Where 12566 ranks low
- Low property taxBetter than only 4% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 7% of zip codes
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 11% of zip codes
- Short commute34.9 minutes each way, better than only 11% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$1,297 a month, better than only 16% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 12566
A household needs to earn about $108,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 12566 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $116,971, 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 12566's effective rate of 1.99%, 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 12566
12566's age mix sits close to the national median, and households here run larger than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 12566.
Who works in 12566, and how
Work in 12566 centers on education and health care & social. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 84%
- Work from home 11%
- Transit, walk, or bike 5%
Life in 12566
12566 has more parkland per resident than 78% of zip codes. That concentrates in some parts of 12566 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 12566, month by month
12566 sees roughly 68 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 87 degrees. January highs sit near 39, with lows near 19. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 39° | 29° | 19° |
| April | 63° | 49° | 36° |
| July | 87° | 74° | 61° |
| October | 67° | 53° | 41° |
Flying in and out of 12566
The nearest airport, New York Stewart International, is about 14 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Laguardia, about 63 miles away.
The best schools in and around 12566
Schools across 12566 average a B, better than 82% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Pakanasink Elementary SchoolB+ · 55% proficient
- E J Russell Elementary SchoolB · 50% proficient
- Circleville Elementary SchoolB · 48% proficient
Top middle schools
- John G Borden Middle SchoolB · 45% proficient
- Crispell Middle SchoolC− · 29% proficient
- Circleville Middle SchoolD− · 16% proficient
Top high schools
- Pine Bush Senior High SchoolA+ · 93% proficient
- Ellenville Junior/senior High SchoolA+ · 83% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 12566 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
12566 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 12566 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 12566
Is 12566 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 12566 ranks 5,736th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on heat safety, big-city access, 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 12566 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $354,809. The overall cost of living runs about 5% above the national average. Set against a $116,971 median income, cost of living beats 83% of zip codes.
Is 12566 safe?
Yes, 12566 is safer than 88% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $206 per resident a year.
Compare 12566 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 12566. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 12566 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.
12566 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 12566: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 12566: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 12566: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 12566: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
12566 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.