Best Places12871, NY Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 12871, 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.
12871 ranks 4,348th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on good schools by a wide margin, and property taxes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 12871
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.
12871's strengths and weaknesses
Where 12871 ranks high
- School gradeA, better than 96% of zip codes
- Heat safetyBetter than 94% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than 94% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than 92% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than 82% of zip codes
Where 12871 ranks low
- Low property taxBetter than only 11% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$1,308 a month, better than only 15% of zip codes
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 17% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than only 18% of zip codes
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 18% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 12871
A household needs to earn about $71,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 12871 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $92,629, so a typical household can afford the median home outright.
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 12871's effective rate of 1.56%, 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 10 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 12871
12871's age mix sits close to the national median, 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 12871.
Who works in 12871, and how
Work in 12871 centers on retail trade and health care & social. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 83%
- Work from home 13%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in 12871
12871 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 72% of zip codes. That concentrates in some parts of 12871 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 12871, month by month
12871 sees roughly 69 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 12871
The nearest airport, Albany International, is about 26 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Bradley International, about 92 miles away.
The best schools in and around 12871
Schools across 12871 average an A, better than 96% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Stillwater Elementary SchoolA+ · 75% proficient
- Schuylerville Elementary SchoolA+ · 75% proficient
- Greenwich Elementary SchoolA · 65% proficient
Top middle schools
- Schuylerville Middle SchoolB+ · 51% proficient
Top high schools
- Greenwich Junior-senior High SchoolA+ · 98% proficient
- Schuylerville High SchoolA+ · 94% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 12871 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
12871 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 12871 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 12871
Is 12871 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 12871 ranks 4,348th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on good schools, heat safety, and clean air, and lowest on property taxes and childcare costs. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 12871 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $246,735. The overall cost of living runs about 2% below the national average. Set against a $92,629 median income, cost of living beats 69% of zip codes.
Is 12871 safe?
Yes, 12871 is safer than 92% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $191 per resident a year.
Compare 12871 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 12871. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 12871 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.
12871 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 12871: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 12871: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 12871: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 12871: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
12871 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.