Best PlacesAmsterdam, NY Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Amsterdam, 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.
Amsterdam ranks 24,271st of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on transit by a wide margin, and property taxes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Amsterdam
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.
Amsterdam's strengths and weaknesses
Where Amsterdam ranks high
- TransitBetter than 98% of towns
- WalkabilityBetter than 97% of towns
- BikingBetter than 93% of towns
- Disaster safetyBetter than 92% of towns
- Air qualityBetter than 91% of towns
Where Amsterdam ranks low
- Low property taxBetter than only 1% of towns
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 9% of towns
- QuietBetter than only 12% of towns
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 15% of towns
- Cheap childcare$1,094 a month, better than only 16% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Amsterdam
A household needs to earn about $55,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Amsterdam home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $68,024, 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 Amsterdam's effective rate of 2.55%, 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 Amsterdam
Amsterdam'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 Amsterdam.
Who works in Amsterdam, and how
Work in Amsterdam centers on health care & social and manufacturing. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 85%
- Work from home 12%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in Amsterdam
Amsterdam has more restaurants and bars per resident than 81% of towns and more parkland per resident than 82% of towns. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Amsterdam and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Amsterdam, month by month
Amsterdam sees roughly 74 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 84 degrees. January highs sit near 33, with lows near 21. The comfortable stretch runs May, June, and August through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 33° | 28° | 21° |
| April | 57° | 50° | 41° |
| July | 84° | 78° | 69° |
| October | 62° | 55° | 46° |
Flying in and out of Amsterdam
The nearest airport, Albany International, is about 24 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Bradley International, about 104 miles away.
The best schools in and around Amsterdam
Schools across Amsterdam average a B−, better than 68% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Charlton Heights Elementary SchoolA+ · 83% proficient
- Glendaal SchoolA+ · 83% proficient
- Fonda-fultonville K-4 SchoolA+ · 75% proficient
Top middle schools
- Richard H O'rourke Middle SchoolA · 59% proficient
- Schalmont Middle SchoolB+ · 48% proficient
- Scotia-glenville Middle SchoolB · 47% proficient
Top high schools
- Fonda-fultonville Senior High SchoolA+ · 98% proficient
- Burnt Hills-ballston Lake Senior High SchoolA+ · 97% proficient
- Scotia-glenville Senior High SchoolA+ · 94% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Amsterdam school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Amsterdam 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 Amsterdam against the other 50,332 towns.
Who Amsterdam suits
Retirees
Set weather, quiet, and health care weights on the map to test the fit.
Common questions about living in Amsterdam
Is Amsterdam a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Amsterdam ranks 24,271st of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on transit, walkability, and biking, 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 Amsterdam expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $170,079. The overall cost of living runs about 5% below the national average. Set against a $68,024 median income, cost of living beats 30% of towns.
Is Amsterdam safe?
Amsterdam is safer than 51% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $328 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Amsterdam?
July highs average about 84 degrees, and January highs near 33 with lows near 21. That works out to about 74 pleasant days a year, more than 36% of towns.
Is Amsterdam good for families?
Schools beat 68% of towns, crime safety beats 51%, and childcare runs $1,094 a month.
Compare Amsterdam with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Amsterdam. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Amsterdam 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.
Amsterdam detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Amsterdam: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Amsterdam: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Amsterdam: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Amsterdam: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Amsterdam 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.