Best Places13838, NY Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 13838, 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.
13838 ranks 21,531st of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on walkability by a wide margin, and property taxes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 13838
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.
13838's strengths and weaknesses
Where 13838 ranks high
- WalkabilityBetter than 94% of zip codes
- School gradeA−, better than 90% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than 88% of zip codes
- Heat safetyBetter than 78% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than 74% of zip codes
Where 13838 ranks low
- Low property taxBetter than only 1% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 7% 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
What it costs to buy a home in 13838
A household needs to earn about $41,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 13838 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $58,611, 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 13838's effective rate of 2.31%, 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 13838
13838 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 13838.
Who works in 13838, and how
Work in 13838 centers on health care & social and retail trade. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 86%
- Work from home 9%
- Transit, walk, or bike 5%
Life in 13838
13838 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 72% of zip codes and more parkland per resident than 92% of zip codes. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 13838 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 13838, month by month
13838 sees roughly 79 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 82 degrees. January highs sit near 33, with lows near 17. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 33° | 25° | 17° |
| April | 58° | 45° | 34° |
| July | 82° | 70° | 60° |
| October | 62° | 51° | 42° |
Flying in and out of 13838
The nearest airport, Greater Binghamton/Edwin A Link Field, is about 31 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Newark Liberty International, about 128 miles away.
The best schools in and around 13838
Schools across 13838 average an A−, better than 90% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Sidney Elementary SchoolA · 63% proficient
Top middle schools
- Sidney Middle SchoolB− · 40% proficient
Top high schools
- Sidney High SchoolA+ · 90% proficient
- Bainbridge-guilford High SchoolA · 68% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 13838 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
13838 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 13838 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 13838
Is 13838 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 13838 ranks 21,531st of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on walkability, good schools, and clean air, and lowest on property taxes and disaster risk. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 13838 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $129,625. The overall cost of living runs about 16% below the national average. Set against a $58,611 median income, cost of living beats 28% of zip codes.
Is 13838 safe?
13838 is safer than 51% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $342 per resident a year.
Compare 13838 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 13838. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 13838 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.
13838 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 13838: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 13838: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 13838: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 13838: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
13838 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.