Best Places12959, NY Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 12959, 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.
12959 ranks 24,253rd of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. Car insurance costs pulls hardest against it, while it scores best on tree cover.
The best neighborhoods in 12959
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.
12959's strengths and weaknesses
Where 12959 ranks high
- Tree shadeBetter than 89% of zip codes
- School gradeA−, better than 89% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than 88% of zip codes
- Heat safetyBetter than 84% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than 77% of zip codes
Where 12959 ranks low
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 8% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than only 11% of zip codes
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 15% of zip codes
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 17% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than only 17% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 12959
A household needs to earn about $45,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 12959 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $56,525, 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 12959's effective rate of 1.36%, 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 5 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 12959
12959'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 12959.
Who works in 12959, and how
Work in 12959 centers on manufacturing and transportation & warehousing. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 91%
- Work from home 7%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in 12959
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 12959.
What the weather is like in 12959, month by month
12959 sees roughly 87 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 12959
The nearest airport, Plattsburgh International, is about 24 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Bradley International, about 214 miles away.
The best schools in and around 12959
Schools across 12959 average an A−, better than 89% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Mooers Elementary SchoolA+ · 85% proficient
- Northern Adirondack Elementary SchoolB+ · 53% proficient
Top middle schools
- Northeastern Clinton Middle SchoolC · 35% proficient
Top high schools
- Chateaugay High SchoolA · 70% proficient
- Northern Adirondack Middle/high SchoolA− · 65% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 12959 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
12959 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 12959 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 12959
Is 12959 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 12959 ranks 24,253rd of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on tree cover, good schools, and quiet, and lowest on car insurance costs and biking. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 12959 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $158,680. The overall cost of living runs about 5% below the national average. Set against a $56,525 median income, cost of living beats 15% of zip codes.
Is 12959 safe?
12959 is safer than 33% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $385 per resident a year.
Compare 12959 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 12959. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 12959 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.
12959 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 12959: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 12959: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 12959: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 12959: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
12959 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.