Best Places12856, NY Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 12856, 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.
12856 ranks 16,030th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on tree cover by a wide margin, and cell coverage ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 12856
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.
12856's strengths and weaknesses
Where 12856 ranks high
- Tree shadeBetter than 98% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than 97% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than 94% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than 93% of zip codes
- School gradeA−, better than 86% of zip codes
Where 12856 ranks low
- Cell coverageBetter than only 2% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 56 pleasant days a year, better than only 4% of zip codes
- Low vacancyBetter than only 8% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$1,317 a month, better than only 14% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than only 15% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 12856
A household needs to earn about $73,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 12856 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $59,633, 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 12856's effective rate of 1.07%, 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 12856
12856 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 12856.
Who works in 12856, and how
Work in 12856 centers on professional & technical and health care & social. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 66%
- Work from home 30%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in 12856
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 12856.
What the weather is like in 12856, month by month
12856 sees roughly 56 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 85 degrees. January highs sit near 34, with lows near 14. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 34° | 24° | 14° |
| April | 59° | 46° | 33° |
| July | 85° | 71° | 58° |
| October | 63° | 51° | 39° |
Flying in and out of 12856
The nearest airport, Adirondack Regional, is about 46 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Bradley International, about 142 miles away.
The best schools in and around 12856
Schools across 12856 average an A−, better than 86% of zip codes.
Top high schools
- Johnsburg Central SchoolA · 60% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 12856 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
12856 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 12856 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 12856
Is 12856 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 12856 ranks 16,030th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on tree cover, quiet, and health care access, and lowest on cell coverage and the weather. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 12856 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $267,900. The overall cost of living runs about 1% below the national average. Set against a $59,633 median income, cost of living beats 18% of zip codes.
Is 12856 safe?
Yes, 12856 is safer than 84% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $205 per resident a year.
Compare 12856 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 12856. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 12856 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.
12856 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 12856: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 12856: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 12856: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 12856: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
12856 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.