Best Places13021, NY Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 13021, 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.
13021 ranks 15,146th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on low disaster risk by a wide margin, and property taxes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 13021
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.
13021's strengths and weaknesses
Where 13021 ranks high
- Disaster safetyBetter than 94% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than 91% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than 86% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than 85% of zip codes
- Short commute20.4 minutes each way, better than 83% of zip codes
Where 13021 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
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 21% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 13021
A household needs to earn about $56,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 13021 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $68,443, 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 13021's effective rate of 2.02%, 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 13021
13021 runs older 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 13021.
Who works in 13021, and how
Work in 13021 centers on health care & social and manufacturing. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 85%
- Work from home 8%
- Transit, walk, or bike 7%
Life in 13021
13021 has more parkland per resident than 72% of zip codes. That concentrates in some parts of 13021 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 13021, month by month
13021 sees roughly 71 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 87 degrees. January highs sit near 36, with lows near 18. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 36° | 27° | 18° |
| April | 60° | 47° | 36° |
| July | 87° | 74° | 63° |
| October | 66° | 54° | 44° |
Flying in and out of 13021
The nearest airport, Syracuse Hancock International, is about 26 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Newark Liberty International, about 198 miles away.
The best schools in and around 13021
Schools across 13021 average a B, better than 77% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Southern Cayuga Elementary SchoolA · 70% proficient
- Andrew J Smith Elementary SchoolA · 68% proficient
- Weedsport Elementary SchoolA− · 60% proficient
Top middle schools
- Skaneateles Middle SchoolA+ · 78% proficient
- Jordan-elbridge Middle SchoolA · 62% proficient
- Auburn Junior High SchoolD− · 18% proficient
Top high schools
- Skaneateles Senior High SchoolA+ · 98% proficient
- Jordan-elbridge High SchoolA+ · 94% proficient
- Auburn High SchoolA+ · 89% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 13021 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
13021 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 13021 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 13021 suits
Retirees
Set weather, quiet, and health care weights on the map to test the fit.
Common questions about living in 13021
Is 13021 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 13021 ranks 15,146th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on low disaster risk, clean air, and transit, 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 13021 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $184,170. The overall cost of living runs about 9% below the national average. Set against a $68,443 median income, cost of living beats 37% of zip codes.
Is 13021 safe?
13021 is safer than 54% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $329 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 13021?
July highs average about 87 degrees, and January highs near 36 with lows near 18. That works out to about 71 pleasant days a year, more than 27% of zip codes.
Is 13021 good for families?
Schools beat 77% of zip codes, crime safety beats 54%, and childcare runs $1,088 a month.
Compare 13021 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 13021. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 13021 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.
13021 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 13021: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 13021: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 13021: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 13021: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
13021 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.