Best Places12957, NY Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 12957, 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.
12957 ranks 22,414th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores best on a stable housing market, and distance from a big city ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 12957
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.
12957's strengths and weaknesses
Where 12957 ranks high
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 90% of zip codes
- Tree shadeBetter than 88% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than 87% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than 80% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than 80% of zip codes
Where 12957 ranks low
- Big-city accessBetter than only 14% of zip codes
- Cell coverageBetter than only 16% of zip codes
- Household income$55,182 median, better 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 12957
A household needs to earn about $24,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 12957 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $55,182, 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 12957's effective rate of 1.09%, 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 3 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 12957
12957 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 12957.
Who works in 12957, and how
Work in 12957 centers on retail trade and education. Unemployment runs well above the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 96%
- Work from home 2%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in 12957
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 12957.
What the weather is like in 12957, month by month
12957 sees roughly 71 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 84 degrees. January highs sit near 29, with lows near 10. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 29° | 20° | 10° |
| April | 56° | 44° | 32° |
| July | 84° | 71° | 58° |
| October | 63° | 50° | 38° |
Flying in and out of 12957
The nearest airport, Massena International-Richards Field, is about 15 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Bradley International, about 222 miles away.
The best schools in and around 12957
Schools across 12957 average a B, better than 68% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Brushton Grade SchoolB · 48% proficient
- Salmon River Elementary SchoolB− · 43% proficient
Top middle schools
- Salmon River Middle SchoolD− · 13% proficient
Top high schools
- Salmon River High SchoolA+ · 94% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 12957 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
12957 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 12957 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 12957
Is 12957 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 12957 ranks 22,414th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on a stable housing market, tree cover, and low disaster risk, and lowest on distance from a big city and cell coverage. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 12957 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $88,885. The overall cost of living runs about 17% below the national average. Set against a $55,182 median income, cost of living beats 21% of zip codes.
Is 12957 safe?
Yes, 12957 is safer than 56% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $295 per resident a year.
Compare 12957 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 12957. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 12957 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.
12957 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 12957: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 12957: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 12957: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 12957: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
12957 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.