Best PlacesClifton, Staten Island, NY Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Clifton, Staten Island, 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.
Clifton, Staten Island ranks 3,738th of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on big-city access by a wide margin, and taxes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Clifton, Staten Island
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.
Clifton, Staten Island's strengths and weaknesses
Where Clifton, Staten Island ranks high
- Big-city accessBetter than 98% of neighborhoods
- TransitBetter than 91% of neighborhoods
- School gradeB+, better than 90% of neighborhoods
- WalkabilityBetter than 88% of neighborhoods
- Air qualityBetter than 79% of neighborhoods
Where Clifton, Staten Island ranks low
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 1% of neighborhoods
- Short commute39.4 minutes each way, better than only 3% of neighborhoods
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 6% of neighborhoods
- Nice weatherabout 58 pleasant days a year, better than only 7% of neighborhoods
- State infrastructureBetter than only 14% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in Clifton, Staten Island
A household needs to earn about $174,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Clifton, Staten Island home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $74,482, 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 Clifton, Staten Island's effective rate of 0.77%, 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 Clifton, Staten Island
Clifton, Staten Island runs younger than the country, 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 Clifton, Staten Island.
Who works in Clifton, Staten Island, and how
Work in Clifton, Staten Island centers on health care & social and retail trade. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 44%
- Work from home 10%
- Transit, walk, or bike 46%
Life in Clifton, Staten Island
Clifton, Staten Island has more parkland per resident than 67% of neighborhoods. The coast is about 4 minutes away. That concentrates in some parts of Clifton, Staten Island and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Clifton, Staten Island, month by month
Clifton, Staten Island sees roughly 58 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 Clifton, Staten Island
Newark Liberty International sits about 6 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 Clifton, Staten Island
Schools across Clifton, Staten Island average a B+, better than 90% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Brooklyn School Of InquiryA+ · 93% proficient
- Ps 65 Academy Of Innovative Learning (the)A+ · 73% proficient
- Ps 78D · 21% proficient
Top middle schools
- Knowledge And Power Preparatory Academy ViC− · 28% proficient
- Is 49 Berta A DreyfusD · 21% proficient
Top high schools
- Professional Pathways High SchoolA− · 60% proficient
- Eagle Academy For Young Men Of Staten Island (the)C+ · 40% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Clifton, Staten Island school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Clifton, Staten Island 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 Clifton, Staten Island against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Who Clifton, Staten Island suits
Retirees
Set weather, quiet, and health care weights on the map to test the fit.
Common questions about living in Clifton, Staten Island
Is Clifton, Staten Island a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Clifton, Staten Island ranks 3,738th of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on big-city access, transit, and good schools, and lowest on taxes and long commutes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Clifton, Staten Island expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $669,863. The overall cost of living runs about 26% above the national average. Set against a $74,482 median income, cost of living beats 20% of neighborhoods.
Is Clifton, Staten Island safe?
Clifton, Staten Island is safer than 44% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $519 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Clifton, Staten Island?
July highs average about 91 degrees, and January highs near 45 with lows near 26. That works out to about 58 pleasant days a year, more than 7% of neighborhoods.
Is Clifton, Staten Island good for families?
Schools beat 90% of neighborhoods, crime safety beats 44%, and childcare runs $1,344 a month.
Compare Clifton, Staten Island with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Clifton, Staten Island. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Clifton, Staten Island 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.
Clifton, Staten Island detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Clifton, Staten Island: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Clifton, Staten Island: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Clifton, Staten Island: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Clifton, Staten Island: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Clifton, Staten Island 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.