Best PlacesDowntown New Haven, New Haven, CT Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Downtown New Haven, New Haven, 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.
Downtown New Haven, New Haven ranks 2,640th of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on short commutes by a wide margin, and an overheated housing market is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Downtown New Haven, New Haven
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.
Downtown New Haven, New Haven's strengths and weaknesses
Where Downtown New Haven, New Haven ranks high
- Short commute14.1 minutes each way, better than 99% of neighborhoods
- Health outlookBetter than 97% of neighborhoods
- Heat safetyBetter than 97% of neighborhoods
- WalkabilityBetter than 97% of neighborhoods
- Voter turnoutBetter than 97% of neighborhoods
Where Downtown New Haven, New Haven ranks low
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 4% of neighborhoods
- Low vacancyBetter than only 6% of neighborhoods
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 6% of neighborhoods
- Low property taxBetter than only 7% of neighborhoods
- QuietBetter than only 11% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in Downtown New Haven, New Haven
A household needs to earn about $73,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Downtown New Haven, New Haven home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $65,426; the gap is small, which keeps homes within reach of local pay.
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 Downtown New Haven, New Haven's effective rate of 1.78%, 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 5 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Downtown New Haven, New Haven
Downtown New Haven, New Haven runs younger than the country, 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 Downtown New Haven, New Haven.
Who works in Downtown New Haven, New Haven, and how
Work in Downtown New Haven, New Haven centers on education and health care & social. 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 20%
- Transit, walk, or bike 52%
Life in Downtown New Haven, New Haven
Downtown New Haven, New Haven has more restaurants and bars per resident than 91% of neighborhoods and more late-night spots per resident than 90% of neighborhoods. The coast is about 5 minutes away. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Downtown New Haven, New Haven and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Downtown New Haven, New Haven, month by month
Downtown New Haven, New Haven sees roughly 70 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 86 degrees. January highs sit near 43, with lows near 25. The comfortable stretch runs May, June, and August through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 43° | 34° | 25° |
| April | 61° | 50° | 40° |
| July | 86° | 77° | 67° |
| October | 69° | 59° | 49° |
Flying in and out of Downtown New Haven, New Haven
The nearest airport, Tweed/New Haven, is about 4 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Bradley International, about 45 miles away.
The best schools in and around Downtown New Haven, New Haven
Schools across Downtown New Haven, New Haven average a D, better than 12% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- John C. DanielsD+ · 24% proficient
- Celentano Biotech Health And Medical Magnet SchoolD− · 14% proficient
- Conte/west Hills Magnet SchoolD− · 12% proficient
Top high schools
- James Hillhouse High SchoolC+ · 37% proficient
- Cooperative High School - Inter-district MagnetC · 32% proficient
- New Haven AcademyD · 20% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Downtown New Haven, New Haven school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Downtown New Haven, New Haven 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 Downtown New Haven, New Haven against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in Downtown New Haven, New Haven
Is Downtown New Haven, New Haven a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Downtown New Haven, New Haven ranks 2,640th of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on short commutes, population health, and heat safety, and lowest on an overheated housing market and empty homes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Downtown New Haven, New Haven expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $247,656. The overall cost of living runs about 2% below the national average. Set against a $65,426 median income, cost of living beats 30% of neighborhoods.
Is Downtown New Haven, New Haven safe?
Downtown New Haven, New Haven is safer than 36% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $439 per resident a year.
Compare Downtown New Haven, New Haven with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Downtown New Haven, New Haven. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Downtown New Haven, New Haven 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.
Downtown New Haven, New Haven detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Downtown New Haven, New Haven: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Downtown New Haven, New Haven: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Downtown New Haven, New Haven: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Downtown New Haven, New Haven: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Downtown New Haven, New Haven 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.