Best Places12720, NY Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 12720, 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.
12720 ranks 12,096th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on a strong job market by a wide margin, and an overheated housing market is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 12720
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.
12720's strengths and weaknesses
Where 12720 ranks high
- Local economyBetter than 99% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than 96% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than 94% of zip codes
- Tree shadeBetter than 94% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than 92% of zip codes
Where 12720 ranks low
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 3% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than only 4% of zip codes
- Low vacancyBetter than only 8% of zip codes
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 9% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than only 17% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 12720
A household needs to earn about $83,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 12720 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $66,655, 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 12720's effective rate of 1.94%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Who lives in 12720
12720 runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 12720.
Who works in 12720, and how
Work in 12720 centers on education and health care & social. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 79%
- Work from home 16%
- Transit, walk, or bike 5%
Life in 12720
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 12720.
What the weather is like in 12720, month by month
12720 sees roughly 69 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 83 degrees. January highs sit near 35, with lows near 17. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 35° | 26° | 17° |
| April | 58° | 45° | 34° |
| July | 83° | 71° | 59° |
| October | 63° | 51° | 41° |
Flying in and out of 12720
The nearest airport, New York Stewart International, is about 42 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Newark Liberty International, about 78 miles away.
The best schools in and around 12720
Schools across 12720 average a B, better than 72% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Sullivan West Elementary SchoolA− · 61% proficient
- Kenneth L Rutherford SchoolB− · 41% proficient
Top middle schools
- Robert J Kaiser Middle SchoolD− · 14% proficient
Top high schools
- Monticello High SchoolA+ · 83% proficient
- Sullivan West High School At Lake HuntingtonA− · 63% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 12720 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
12720 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 12720 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 12720
Is 12720 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 12720 ranks 12,096th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on a strong job market, health care access, and quiet, and lowest on an overheated housing market and property taxes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 12720 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $275,000. The overall cost of living runs about 4% below the national average. Set against a $66,655 median income, cost of living beats 32% of zip codes.
Is 12720 safe?
Yes, 12720 is safer than 92% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $179 per resident a year.
Compare 12720 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 12720. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 12720 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.
12720 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 12720: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 12720: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 12720: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 12720: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
12720 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.