Best Places12604, NY Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 12604, 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.
12604 ranks 1,720th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on low crime by a wide margin, and property taxes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 12604
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.
12604's strengths and weaknesses
Where 12604 ranks high
- Crime safetyBetter than 99% of zip codes
- Health outlookBetter than 99% of zip codes
- Short commute11.8 minutes each way, better than 99% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than 98% of zip codes
- Heat safetyBetter than 97% of zip codes
Where 12604 ranks low
- Low property taxBetter than only 1% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 1% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 9% of zip codes
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 10% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 64 pleasant days a year, better than only 14% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 12604
A household needs to earn about $112,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 12604 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $86,856, 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 12604's effective rate of 2.90%, 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 7 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 12604
12604 runs younger than the country, 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 12604.
Who works in 12604, and how
Work in 12604 centers on education and hospitality & food. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 19%
- Work from home 24%
- Transit, walk, or bike 58%
Life in 12604
12604 has more parkland per resident than 99% of zip codes. That concentrates in some parts of 12604 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 12604, month by month
12604 sees roughly 64 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 88 degrees. January highs sit near 41, with lows near 20. The comfortable stretch runs May through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 41° | 30° | 20° |
| April | 64° | 50° | 38° |
| July | 88° | 75° | 63° |
| October | 68° | 55° | 42° |
Flying in and out of 12604
The nearest airport, New York Stewart International, is about 17 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Laguardia, about 63 miles away.
The best schools in and around 12604
Schools across 12604 average an A, better than 94% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Arthur S May SchoolA− · 60% proficient
Top middle schools
- Lagrange Middle SchoolA− · 53% proficient
Top high schools
- Arlington High SchoolA+ · 95% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 12604 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
12604 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 12604 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 12604
Is 12604 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 12604 ranks 1,720th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on low crime, population health, and short commutes, and lowest on property taxes and civic engagement. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 12604 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $331,800. The overall cost of living runs about 13% above the national average. Set against a $86,856 median income, cost of living beats 27% of zip codes.
Is 12604 safe?
Yes, 12604 is safer than 100% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $119 per resident a year.
Compare 12604 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 12604. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 12604 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.
12604 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 12604: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 12604: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 12604: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 12604: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
12604 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.