Best Places13081, NY Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 13081, 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.
13081 ranks 4,123rd of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on low crime by a wide margin, and empty homes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 13081
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.
13081's strengths and weaknesses
Where 13081 ranks high
- Crime safetyBetter than 95% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than 95% of zip codes
- School gradeA, better than 94% of zip codes
- Heat safetyBetter than 94% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than 89% of zip codes
Where 13081 ranks low
- Low vacancyBetter than only 8% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than only 9% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than only 18% of zip codes
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 18% of zip codes
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 19% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 13081
A household needs to earn about $83,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 13081 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $95,865, 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 13081's effective rate of 1.65%, 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 6 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 13081
13081 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 13081.
Who works in 13081, and how
Work in 13081 centers on education and retail trade. Unemployment is low, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 78%
- Work from home 14%
- Transit, walk, or bike 8%
Life in 13081
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 13081.
What the weather is like in 13081, month by month
13081 sees roughly 71 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 84 degrees. January highs sit near 35, with lows near 17. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 35° | 26° | 17° |
| April | 59° | 46° | 34° |
| July | 84° | 71° | 59° |
| October | 64° | 52° | 41° |
Flying in and out of 13081
The nearest airport, Ithaca Tompkins International, is about 15 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Newark Liberty International, about 186 miles away.
The best schools in and around 13081
Schools across 13081 average an A, better than 94% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Southern Cayuga Elementary SchoolA · 70% proficient
Top high schools
- Southern Cayuga 7-12 Secondary SchoolA · 70% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 13081 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
13081 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 13081 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 13081
Is 13081 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 13081 ranks 4,123rd of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on low crime, low disaster risk, and good schools, and lowest on empty homes and property taxes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 13081 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $285,656. The overall cost of living runs about 4% below the national average. Set against a $95,865 median income, cost of living beats 80% of zip codes.
Is 13081 safe?
Yes, 13081 is safer than 95% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $160 per resident a year.
Compare 13081 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 13081. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 13081 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.
13081 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 13081: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 13081: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 13081: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 13081: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
13081 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.