Best Places12929, NY Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 12929, 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.
12929 ranks 21,715th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on cell coverage by a wide margin, and education levels rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 12929
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.
12929's strengths and weaknesses
Where 12929 ranks high
- Cell coverageBetter than 97% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 90% of zip codes
- School gradeB+, better than 88% of zip codes
- Short commute20.1 minutes each way, better than 84% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than 79% of zip codes
Where 12929 ranks low
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 1% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than only 7% of zip codes
- Low vacancyBetter than only 8% of zip codes
- Internet speedBetter than only 8% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 12% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 12929
A household needs to earn about $41,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 12929 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $73,921, 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 12929's effective rate of 1.74%, 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 7 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 12929
12929 runs younger 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 12929.
Who works in 12929, and how
Work in 12929 centers on public administration and hospitality & food. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 88%
- Work from home 6%
- Transit, walk, or bike 6%
Life in 12929
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 12929.
What the weather is like in 12929, month by month
12929 sees roughly 80 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 12929
The nearest airport, Plattsburgh International, is about 13 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Bradley International, about 199 miles away.
The best schools in and around 12929
Schools across 12929 average a B+, better than 88% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Saranac Elementary SchoolB+ · 53% proficient
Top middle schools
- Saranac Middle SchoolC+ · 36% proficient
Top high schools
- Saranac High SchoolA+ · 98% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 12929 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
12929 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 12929 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 12929
Is 12929 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 12929 ranks 21,715th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on cell coverage, a stable housing market, and good schools, and lowest on education levels and property taxes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 12929 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $139,056. The overall cost of living runs about 13% below the national average. Set against a $73,921 median income, cost of living beats 31% of zip codes.
Is 12929 safe?
12929 is safer than 26% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $414 per resident a year.
Compare 12929 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 12929. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 12929 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.
12929 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 12929: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 12929: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 12929: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 12929: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
12929 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.