Best PlacesIndian River, NY Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Indian River, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. This page is for people who live here or already know they want to. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Indian River ranks 14,273rd of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on heat safety by a wide margin, and biking ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Indian River
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.
Indian River's strengths and weaknesses
Where Indian River ranks high
- Heat safetyBetter than 95% of towns
- Tree shadeBetter than 94% of towns
- QuietBetter than 94% of towns
- Air qualityBetter than 93% of towns
- Disaster safetyBetter than 90% of towns
Where Indian River ranks low
- BikingBetter than only 3% of towns
- Cell coverageBetter than only 9% of towns
- Low vacancyBetter than only 10% of towns
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 14% of towns
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 15% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Indian River
A household needs to earn about $51,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Indian River home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $94,761, 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 Indian River's effective rate of 1.11%, 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 8 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Indian River
Indian River runs older than the country, though fewer residents are over 65 than the national share.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Indian River.
Who works in Indian River, and how
Work in Indian River centers on manufacturing and public administration. Unemployment is low, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 90%
- Work from home 5%
- Transit, walk, or bike 6%
Life in Indian River
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Indian River.
What the weather is like in Indian River, month by month
Indian River sees roughly 72 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 83 degrees. January highs sit near 31, with lows near 14. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 31° | 22° | 14° |
| April | 56° | 44° | 33° |
| July | 83° | 72° | 61° |
| October | 63° | 51° | 41° |
Flying in and out of Indian River
The nearest airport, Watertown International, is about 32 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Bradley International, about 196 miles away.
The best schools in and around Indian River
Schools across Indian River average a B+, better than 82% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Harrisville Elementary SchoolB+ · 53% proficient
- Beaver River Elementary SchoolB+ · 53% proficient
- Carthage Elementary SchoolB · 45% proficient
Top middle schools
- Carthage Middle SchoolC+ · 37% proficient
- Beaver River Middle SchoolC− · 30% proficient
Top high schools
- Beaver River Senior High SchoolA+ · 98% proficient
- Carthage Senior High SchoolA+ · 90% proficient
- Harrisville Junior-senior High SchoolB · 50% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Indian River school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Indian River 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 Indian River against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Indian River
Is Indian River a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Indian River ranks 14,273rd of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on heat safety, tree cover, and quiet, and lowest on biking and cell coverage. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Indian River expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $187,819. The overall cost of living runs about 12% below the national average. Set against a $94,761 median income, cost of living beats 82% of towns.
Is Indian River safe?
Yes, Indian River is safer than 60% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $278 per resident a year.
Compare Indian River with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Indian River. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Indian River 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.
Indian River detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Indian River: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Indian River: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Indian River: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Indian River: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Indian River 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.