Best Places12901, NY Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 12901, 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.
12901 ranks 12,868th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on short commutes by a wide margin, and property taxes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 12901
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.
12901's strengths and weaknesses
Where 12901 ranks high
- Short commute17.5 minutes each way, better than 93% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than 88% of zip codes
- School gradeB+, better than 86% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than 86% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than 82% of zip codes
Where 12901 ranks low
- Low property taxBetter than only 3% of zip codes
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 14% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than only 18% of zip codes
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 18% of zip codes
- Local economyBetter than only 24% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 12901
A household needs to earn about $59,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 12901 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $71,928, 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 12901's effective rate of 2.08%, 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 8 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 12901
12901'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 12901.
Who works in 12901, and how
Work in 12901 centers on health care & social and retail trade. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 81%
- Work from home 8%
- Transit, walk, or bike 11%
Life in 12901
12901 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 91% of zip codes and more parkland per resident than 75% of zip codes. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 12901 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 12901, month by month
12901 sees roughly 88 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 84 degrees. January highs sit near 32, with lows near 13. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 32° | 22° | 13° |
| April | 56° | 44° | 32° |
| July | 84° | 71° | 59° |
| October | 62° | 51° | 40° |
Flying in and out of 12901
The nearest airport, Plattsburgh International, is about 3 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Bradley International, about 195 miles away.
The best schools in and around 12901
Schools across 12901 average a B+, better than 86% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Chazy Central Rural Elementary SchoolA+ · 83% proficient
- Cumberland Head Elementary SchoolA · 63% proficient
- Saranac Elementary SchoolB+ · 53% proficient
Top middle schools
- Beekmantown Middle SchoolB+ · 50% proficient
- Saranac Middle SchoolC+ · 36% proficient
- Stafford Middle SchoolC · 35% proficient
Top high schools
- Saranac High SchoolA+ · 98% proficient
- Plattsburgh Senior High SchoolA+ · 98% proficient
- Beekmantown High SchoolA+ · 94% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 12901 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
12901 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 12901 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 12901 suits
Retirees
Set weather, quiet, and health care weights on the map to test the fit.
Common questions about living in 12901
Is 12901 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 12901 ranks 12,868th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on short commutes, low disaster risk, and good schools, and lowest on property taxes and car insurance costs. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 12901 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $192,089. The overall cost of living runs about 3% below the national average. Set against a $71,928 median income, cost of living beats 35% of zip codes.
Is 12901 safe?
Yes, 12901 is safer than 61% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $307 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 12901?
July highs average about 84 degrees, and January highs near 32 with lows near 13. That works out to about 88 pleasant days a year, more than 54% of zip codes.
Is 12901 good for families?
Schools beat 86% of zip codes, crime safety beats 61%, and childcare runs $1,088 a month.
Compare 12901 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 12901. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 12901 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.
12901 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 12901: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 12901: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 12901: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 12901: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
12901 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.