Best Places12577, NY Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 12577, 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.
12577 ranks 5,409th 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 12577
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.
12577's strengths and weaknesses
Where 12577 ranks high
- Big-city accessBetter than 94% of zip codes
- Heat safetyBetter than 94% of zip codes
- Household income$130,401 median, better than 93% of zip codes
- Tree shadeBetter than 91% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than 91% of zip codes
Where 12577 ranks low
- Low property taxBetter than only 1% of zip codes
- Short commute40.4 minutes each way, better than only 4% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 8% of zip codes
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 10% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$1,308 a month, better than only 15% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 12577
A household needs to earn about $131,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 12577 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $130,401; the gap is small, which keeps homes within reach of local pay.
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 12577's effective rate of 2.44%, 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 12577
12577'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 12577.
Who works in 12577, and how
Work in 12577 centers on education and health care & social. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 85%
- Work from home 5%
- Transit, walk, or bike 10%
Life in 12577
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 12577.
What the weather is like in 12577, month by month
12577 sees roughly 75 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 12577
The nearest airport, New York Stewart International, is about 5 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Laguardia, about 47 miles away.
The best schools in and around 12577
Schools across 12577 average a B+, better than 88% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Taft Elementary SchoolA− · 60% proficient
- Little Britain Elementary SchoolB+ · 53% proficient
- Round Hill Elementary SchoolB+ · 53% proficient
Top middle schools
- Cornwall Middle SchoolA · 64% proficient
- Washingtonville Middle SchoolC · 33% proficient
Top high schools
- Cornwall Central High SchoolA+ · 95% proficient
- Washingtonville Senior High SchoolA+ · 93% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 12577 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
12577 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 12577 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 12577
Is 12577 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 12577 ranks 5,409th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on big-city access, heat safety, and high incomes, and lowest on property taxes and long commutes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 12577 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $408,064. The overall cost of living runs about 14% above the national average. Set against a $130,401 median income, cost of living beats 85% of zip codes.
Is 12577 safe?
Yes, 12577 is safer than 91% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $184 per resident a year.
Compare 12577 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 12577. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 12577 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.
12577 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 12577: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 12577: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 12577: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 12577: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
12577 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.