Best PlacesHamilton Heights, Manhattan, NY Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Hamilton Heights, Manhattan, 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.
Hamilton Heights, Manhattan ranks 2,857th of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on walkability by a wide margin, and taxes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Hamilton Heights, Manhattan
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.
Hamilton Heights, Manhattan's strengths and weaknesses
Where Hamilton Heights, Manhattan ranks high
- WalkabilityBetter than 99% of neighborhoods
- TransitBetter than 99% of neighborhoods
- Big-city accessBetter than 99% of neighborhoods
- School gradeB+, better than 95% of neighborhoods
- Low property taxBetter than 92% of neighborhoods
Where Hamilton Heights, Manhattan ranks low
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 1% of neighborhoods
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 2% of neighborhoods
- Short commute37.1 minutes each way, better than only 4% of neighborhoods
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 6% of neighborhoods
- Local economyBetter than only 6% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in Hamilton Heights, Manhattan
A household needs to earn about $179,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Hamilton Heights, Manhattan home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $64,039, 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 Hamilton Heights, Manhattan's effective rate of 0.51%, 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 Hamilton Heights, Manhattan
Hamilton Heights, Manhattan runs younger than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Hamilton Heights, Manhattan.
Who works in Hamilton Heights, Manhattan, and how
Work in Hamilton Heights, Manhattan centers on health care & social and education. Unemployment runs well above the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 8%
- Work from home 25%
- Transit, walk, or bike 68%
Life in Hamilton Heights, Manhattan
The coast is about 16 minutes away. Distance to the water changes a lot across Hamilton Heights, Manhattan, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Hamilton Heights, Manhattan, month by month
Hamilton Heights, Manhattan sees roughly 76 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 88 degrees. January highs sit near 43, with lows near 28. The comfortable stretch runs May, June, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 43° | 35° | 28° |
| April | 65° | 53° | 44° |
| July | 88° | 78° | 70° |
| October | 69° | 60° | 52° |
Flying in and out of Hamilton Heights, Manhattan
Laguardia sits about 5 miles away. It is a large hub and boarded 16.3 million passengers in 2025, with 118 nonstop destinations.
The best schools in and around Hamilton Heights, Manhattan
Schools across Hamilton Heights, Manhattan average a B+, better than 95% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Active Learning Elementary School (the)A+ · 80% proficient
- Ps 153 Adam Clayton PowellA+ · 75% proficient
- William Lynch School (the)A+ · 75% proficient
Top middle schools
- New Design Middle SchoolD+ · 25% proficient
- Hamilton Grange Middle SchoolD+ · 25% proficient
- Seed HarlemD+ · 25% proficient
Top high schools
- Brooklyn College AcademyA+ · 98% proficient
- High School Mathematics Science And Engineering At CcnyA+ · 98% proficient
- Midwood High SchoolA+ · 97% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Hamilton Heights, Manhattan school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Hamilton Heights, Manhattan 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 Hamilton Heights, Manhattan against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Who Hamilton Heights, Manhattan suits
Retirees
Set weather, quiet, and health care weights on the map to test the fit.
Common questions about living in Hamilton Heights, Manhattan
Is Hamilton Heights, Manhattan a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Hamilton Heights, Manhattan ranks 2,857th of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on walkability, transit, and big-city access, and lowest on 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 Hamilton Heights, Manhattan expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $714,742. The overall cost of living runs about 48% above the national average. Set against a $64,039 median income, cost of living beats 6% of neighborhoods.
Is Hamilton Heights, Manhattan safe?
Yes, Hamilton Heights, Manhattan is safer than 75% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $335 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Hamilton Heights, Manhattan?
July highs average about 88 degrees, and January highs near 43 with lows near 28. That works out to about 76 pleasant days a year, more than 35% of neighborhoods.
Is Hamilton Heights, Manhattan good for families?
Schools beat 95% of neighborhoods, crime safety beats 75%, and childcare runs $1,344 a month.
Compare Hamilton Heights, Manhattan with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Hamilton Heights, Manhattan. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Hamilton Heights, Manhattan 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.
Hamilton Heights, Manhattan detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Hamilton Heights, Manhattan: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Hamilton Heights, Manhattan: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Hamilton Heights, Manhattan: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Hamilton Heights, Manhattan: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Hamilton Heights, Manhattan 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.