Best PlacesBrighton, Syracuse, NY Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Brighton, Syracuse, 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.
Brighton, Syracuse ranks 5,437th of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on low disaster risk by a wide margin, and an overheated housing market is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Brighton, Syracuse
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.
Brighton, Syracuse's strengths and weaknesses
Where Brighton, Syracuse ranks high
- Disaster safetyBetter than 93% of neighborhoods
- Air qualityBetter than 91% of neighborhoods
- Tree shadeBetter than 86% of neighborhoods
- Short commute19.6 minutes each way, better than 82% of neighborhoods
- School gradeB, better than 80% of neighborhoods
Where Brighton, Syracuse ranks low
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 1% of neighborhoods
- Internet speedBetter than only 2% of neighborhoods
- Health outlookBetter than only 2% of neighborhoods
- Household income$34,603 median, better than only 5% of neighborhoods
- Low vacancyBetter than only 6% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in Brighton, Syracuse
A household needs to earn about $22,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Brighton, Syracuse home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $34,603, 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 Brighton, Syracuse's effective rate of 1.16%, 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 2 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Brighton, Syracuse
Brighton, Syracuse runs younger than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Brighton, Syracuse.
Who works in Brighton, Syracuse, and how
Work in Brighton, Syracuse centers on health care & social and retail trade. Unemployment runs well above the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 63%
- Work from home 10%
- Transit, walk, or bike 26%
Life in Brighton, Syracuse
Brighton, Syracuse has more parkland per resident than 84% of neighborhoods. That concentrates in some parts of Brighton, Syracuse and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Brighton, Syracuse, month by month
Brighton, Syracuse sees roughly 70 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 87 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° | 27° | 18° |
| April | 60° | 47° | 36° |
| July | 87° | 74° | 63° |
| October | 66° | 54° | 44° |
Flying in and out of Brighton, Syracuse
The nearest airport, Syracuse Hancock International, is about 6 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Newark Liberty International, about 191 miles away.
The best schools in and around Brighton, Syracuse
Schools across Brighton, Syracuse average a B, better than 80% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Syracuse Latin SchoolA− · 56% proficient
Top middle schools
- Expeditionary Learning Middle SchoolD− · 15% proficient
- Brighton AcademyF · 11% proficient
Top high schools
- Institute Of Technology At Syracuse CentralA+ · 85% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Brighton, Syracuse school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Brighton, Syracuse 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 Brighton, Syracuse against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in Brighton, Syracuse
Is Brighton, Syracuse a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Brighton, Syracuse ranks 5,437th of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on low disaster risk, clean air, and tree cover, and lowest on an overheated housing market and internet speeds. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Brighton, Syracuse expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $78,494. The overall cost of living runs about 15% below the national average. Set against a $34,603 median income, cost of living beats 6% of neighborhoods.
Is Brighton, Syracuse safe?
Brighton, Syracuse is safer than 11% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $819 per resident a year.
Compare Brighton, Syracuse with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Brighton, Syracuse. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Brighton, Syracuse 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.
Brighton, Syracuse detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Brighton, Syracuse: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Brighton, Syracuse: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Brighton, Syracuse: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Brighton, Syracuse: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Brighton, Syracuse 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.