Best PlacesBerlin, NY Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Berlin, 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.
Berlin ranks 12,139th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on quiet by a wide margin, and childcare costs are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Berlin
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.
Berlin's strengths and weaknesses
Where Berlin ranks high
- QuietBetter than 97% of towns
- Air qualityBetter than 90% of towns
- Tree shadeBetter than 88% of towns
- Heat safetyBetter than 87% of towns
- School gradeA−, better than 87% of towns
Where Berlin ranks low
- Cheap childcare$1,317 a month, better than only 8% of towns
- Low property taxBetter than only 11% of towns
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 11% of towns
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 15% of towns
- Nice weatherabout 65 pleasant days a year, better than only 16% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Berlin
A household needs to earn about $59,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Berlin home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $94,690, 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 Berlin's effective rate of 1.49%, 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 Berlin
Berlin's age mix sits close to the national median.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Berlin.
Who works in Berlin, and how
Work in Berlin centers on manufacturing and construction. Unemployment is low, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 82%
- Work from home 13%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in Berlin
Berlin has more restaurants and bars per resident than 98% of towns. That concentrates in some parts of Berlin and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Berlin, month by month
Berlin sees roughly 65 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 85 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° | 26° | 18° |
| April | 60° | 47° | 35° |
| July | 85° | 71° | 59° |
| October | 65° | 52° | 41° |
Flying in and out of Berlin
The nearest airport, Albany International, is about 24 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Bradley International, about 62 miles away.
The best schools in and around Berlin
Schools across Berlin average an A−, better than 87% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Berlin Elementary SchoolA− · 58% proficient
Top high schools
- Berlin Middle School/high SchoolA− · 63% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Berlin school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Berlin 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 Berlin against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Berlin
Is Berlin a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Berlin ranks 12,139th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on quiet, clean air, and tree cover, and lowest on childcare costs and property taxes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Berlin expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $207,259. The overall cost of living runs about 12% below the national average. Set against a $94,690 median income, cost of living beats 84% of towns.
Is Berlin safe?
Yes, Berlin is safer than 75% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $230 per resident a year.
Compare Berlin with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Berlin. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Berlin 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.
Berlin detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Berlin: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Berlin: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Berlin: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Berlin: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Berlin 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.