Best PlacesBensonhurst, Brooklyn, NY Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. The coast is close, and the measures below put a number on how close. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Bensonhurst, Brooklyn ranks 2,571st of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. The coast is about 2 minutes away. Its strengths are big-city access and transit. The cost shows up in long commutes, taxes, and car insurance costs.
The best neighborhoods in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn
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.
Bensonhurst, Brooklyn's strengths and weaknesses
Bensonhurst, Brooklyn lands in the middle because its strengths and weaknesses roughly balance. Big-city access is the standout, in the top 2% of neighborhoods. Transit and good schools follow.
The one real hole is long commutes, near the bottom of the country. Taxes and car insurance costs also cost it ground. That one depends almost entirely on which part you pick, which is what the map below settles.
Where Bensonhurst, Brooklyn ranks high
- Big-city accessBetter than 98% of neighborhoods
- TransitBetter than 97% of neighborhoods
- School gradeA, better than 97% of neighborhoods
- WalkabilityBetter than 96% of neighborhoods
- Crime safetyBetter than 95% of neighborhoods
Where Bensonhurst, Brooklyn ranks low
- Short commute44.9 minutes each way, better than only 1% of neighborhoods
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 1% of neighborhoods
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 4% of neighborhoods
- Tree shadeBetter than only 4% of neighborhoods
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 6% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn
A household needs to earn about $292,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Bensonhurst, Brooklyn home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $72,480, so buying stretches a typical household.
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 Bensonhurst, Brooklyn's effective rate of 0.64%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices and rents, renting stays cheaper than buying across the first 10 years here, so the case for buying rests on staying much longer or on prices rising faster than assumed. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn
Bensonhurst, Brooklyn's age mix sits close to the national median, and households here run larger than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Bensonhurst, Brooklyn.
Who works in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, and how
Work in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn centers on health care & social and education. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 28%
- Work from home 14%
- Transit, walk, or bike 59%
Life in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn
Bensonhurst, Brooklyn has less late-night activity than most neighborhoods. The coast is about 2 minutes away. That concentrates in some parts of Bensonhurst, Brooklyn and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, month by month
Bensonhurst, Brooklyn sees roughly 59 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 91 degrees. January highs sit near 45, with lows near 26. The comfortable stretch runs May, June, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 45° | 35° | 26° |
| April | 67° | 54° | 44° |
| July | 91° | 80° | 70° |
| October | 71° | 60° | 50° |
Flying in and out of Bensonhurst, Brooklyn
Newark Liberty International sits about 11 miles away. It is a large hub and boarded 23.5 million passengers in 2025, with 242 nonstop destinations.
The best schools in and around Bensonhurst, Brooklyn
Schools across Bensonhurst, Brooklyn average an A, better than 97% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Brooklyn School Of InquiryA+ · 93% proficient
- Ps 748 Brooklyn School For Global ScholarsA+ · 85% proficient
- Ps 247A+ · 83% proficient
Top middle schools
- Christa Mcauliffe School (the) /is 187A+ · 95% proficient
- Is 98 Bay AcademyA+ · 93% proficient
- Madeleine Brennan School (the)A · 66% proficient
Top high schools
- New Utrecht High SchoolA+ · 94% proficient
- Brooklyn Studio Secondary SchoolA+ · 84% proficient
- Professional Pathways High SchoolA− · 60% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Bensonhurst, Brooklyn school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Bensonhurst, Brooklyn 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 Bensonhurst, Brooklyn against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Who Bensonhurst, Brooklyn suits
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 14% already work from home.
Retirees
Set weather, quiet, and health care weights on the map to test the fit.
Common questions about living in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn
Is Bensonhurst, Brooklyn a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Bensonhurst, Brooklyn ranks 2,571st of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on big-city access, transit, and good schools, and lowest on long commutes and taxes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Bensonhurst, Brooklyn expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $1,141,226. The overall cost of living runs about 50% above the national average. Set against a $72,480 median income, cost of living beats 6% of neighborhoods.
Is Bensonhurst, Brooklyn safe?
Yes, Bensonhurst, Brooklyn is safer than 95% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $210 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn?
July highs average about 91 degrees, and January highs near 45 with lows near 26. That works out to about 59 pleasant days a year, more than 7% of neighborhoods.
Is Bensonhurst, Brooklyn good for families?
Schools beat 97% of neighborhoods, crime safety beats 95%, and childcare runs $1,344 a month.
Is Bensonhurst, Brooklyn good for remote workers?
Cost of living against local pay beats 6% of neighborhoods, and the fastest advertised internet here beats 93% of neighborhoods. About 14% of workers already work from home.
Compare Bensonhurst, Brooklyn with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Bensonhurst, Brooklyn. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn 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.
Bensonhurst, Brooklyn detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Bensonhurst, Brooklyn: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Bensonhurst, Brooklyn: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Bensonhurst, Brooklyn 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.