Best Places12812, NY Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 12812, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Several measures below read low, and the ranked lists name which ones. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
12812 ranks 14,904th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on tree cover by a wide margin, and empty homes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 12812
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.
12812's strengths and weaknesses
Where 12812 ranks high
- Tree shadeBetter than 98% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than 97% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than 97% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than 94% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than 89% of zip codes
Where 12812 ranks low
- Low vacancyBetter than only 8% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 61 pleasant days a year, better than only 10% of zip codes
- Cell coverageBetter than only 11% of zip codes
- Local economyBetter than only 11% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than only 18% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 12812
A household needs to earn about $72,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 12812 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $64,676; 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 12812's effective rate of 0.87%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices and rents, renting stays cheaper than buying across the first 10 years here, so the case for buying rests on staying much longer or on prices rising faster than assumed. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 12812
12812 runs older than the country, and households here run smaller than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 12812.
Who works in 12812, and how
Work in 12812 centers on construction and retail trade. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 58%
- Work from home 34%
- Transit, walk, or bike 8%
Life in 12812
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 12812.
What the weather is like in 12812, month by month
12812 sees roughly 61 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 80 degrees. January highs sit near 28, with lows near 7. The comfortable stretch runs June through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 28° | 17° | 7° |
| April | 53° | 39° | 26° |
| July | 80° | 66° | 51° |
| October | 59° | 46° | 34° |
Flying in and out of 12812
The nearest airport, Adirondack Regional, is about 37 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Bradley International, about 159 miles away.
The best schools in and around 12812
Schools across 12812 average an A−, better than 86% of zip codes.
Top high schools
- Indian Lake Central SchoolA · 60% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 12812 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
12812 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 12812 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 12812
Is 12812 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 12812 ranks 14,904th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on tree cover, quiet, and health care access, and lowest on empty homes and the weather. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 12812 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $274,300. The overall cost of living runs about 3% below the national average. Set against a $64,676 median income, cost of living beats 35% of zip codes.
Is 12812 safe?
Yes, 12812 is safer than 72% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $244 per resident a year.
Compare 12812 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 12812. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 12812 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.
12812 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 12812: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 12812: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 12812: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 12812: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
12812 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.