Best PlacesFulton County, NY Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Fulton County, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. The averages are not the whole story, and the strongest areas score well above them. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Fulton County ranks 1,048th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on low disaster risk by a wide margin, and property taxes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Fulton County
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.
The best areas in Fulton County
The parts of Fulton County, ranked by the BestNeighborhood standard score across every neighborhood, highest scoring first. Each note says how that part differs from the rest of the county.
Broadalbin
Fewer homes sit empty, schools score higher, and incomes run higher.
Mayfield
It is quieter and tree cover is thicker.
Johnstown
Biking is better and commutes are shorter.
Gloversville
Streets are more walkable, though crime runs higher.
Scores across Fulton County run from about the 12th to the 88th percentile nationally. The map is where that becomes a choice of area.
Fulton County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Fulton County ranks high
- Disaster safetyBetter than 93% of counties
- Air qualityBetter than 91% of counties
- Internet speedBetter than 90% of counties
- WalkabilityBetter than 89% of counties
- School gradeB+, better than 86% of counties
Where Fulton County ranks low
- Low property taxBetter than only 4% of counties
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 10% of counties
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 11% of counties
- Cheap childcare$1,088 a month, better than only 12% of counties
- State infrastructureBetter than only 14% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Fulton County
A household needs to earn about $52,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Fulton County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $69,594, 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 Fulton County's effective rate of 1.76%, 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 7 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Fulton County
Fulton County runs older 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 Fulton County.
Who works in Fulton County, and how
Work in Fulton County centers on health care & social and retail trade. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 87%
- Work from home 7%
- Transit, walk, or bike 5%
Life in Fulton County
Fulton County has fewer places to eat and drink per resident than most counties and more late-night spots per resident than 75% of counties. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Fulton County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Fulton County growing, and who is moving in?
Fulton County has lost about 3% of its population over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Albany, NY.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Fulton County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Fulton County, month by month
Fulton County sees roughly 78 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 84 degrees. January highs sit near 33, with lows near 21. The comfortable stretch runs May, June, and August through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 33° | 28° | 21° |
| April | 57° | 50° | 41° |
| July | 84° | 78° | 69° |
| October | 62° | 55° | 46° |
Flying in and out of Fulton County
The nearest airport, Albany International, is about 34 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Bradley International, about 114 miles away.
The best schools in and around Fulton County
Schools across Fulton County average a B+, better than 86% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Fonda-fultonville K-4 SchoolA+ · 75% proficient
- Broadalbin-perth Elementary SchoolA · 71% proficient
- Northville Elementary SchoolA · 70% proficient
Top middle schools
- Fonda-fultonville 5-8 SchoolC+ · 36% proficient
- Canajoharie Middle SchoolC− · 28% proficient
- Gloversville Middle SchoolD− · 16% proficient
Top high schools
- Fonda-fultonville Senior High SchoolA+ · 98% proficient
- James A Green Junior-senior High SchoolA+ · 94% proficient
- Canajoharie Senior High SchoolA+ · 90% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Fulton County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Fulton County 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 Fulton County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who Fulton County suits
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 7% already work from home.
Common questions about living in Fulton County
Is Fulton County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Fulton County ranks 1,048th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on low disaster risk, clean air, and fast internet, and lowest on property taxes and car insurance costs. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Fulton County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $175,984. The overall cost of living runs about 9% below the national average. Set against a $69,594 median income, cost of living beats 44% of counties.
Is Fulton County safe?
Yes, Fulton County is safer than 85% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $261 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Fulton County?
July highs average about 84 degrees, and January highs near 33 with lows near 21. That works out to about 78 pleasant days a year, more than 36% of counties.
What are the best neighborhoods in Fulton County?
Using the default rankings, the highest-scoring areas are Broadalbin, Mayfield, and Johnstown. The ranked list and the re-weightable map above let you re-sort them for your own priorities.
Compare Fulton County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Fulton County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Fulton County 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.
Fulton County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Fulton County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Fulton County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Fulton County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Fulton County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Fulton County 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.
- U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program: population growth and net migration behind the population-change section.
- 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.