Best PlacesJefferson County, NY Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Jefferson 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.
Jefferson County ranks 905th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It ranks low mainly on car insurance costs and taxes. It does better on heat safety, which keeps it off the bottom.
The best neighborhoods in Jefferson 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 Jefferson County
The parts of Jefferson 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.
Adams & Sackets Harbor
More residents vote, it is quieter, and health care is easier to reach.
Dexter
Fewer households have young kids and more homes sit empty.
Theresa
Prices have run up less, though biking is worse.
Watertown
Tree cover is thicker and streets are more walkable.
Fort Drum & Carthage
Commutes are shorter, though homes cost more.
Clayton
Schools score higher, though crime runs higher.
Calcium
Incomes run lower and local pay stretches less far.
Scores across Jefferson County run from about the 12th to the 83rd percentile nationally. The map is where that becomes a choice of area.
Jefferson County's strengths and weaknesses
Jefferson County lands in the middle because its strengths and weaknesses roughly balance. Heat safety, low disaster risk, and good schools carry most of that.
The drawbacks are real but narrow. Car insurance costs, taxes, and childcare costs hold the score down. Cost swings more from one part of Jefferson County to another than it does between Jefferson County and its neighbors, which the map below shows.
Where Jefferson County ranks high
- Heat safetyBetter than 97% of counties
- Disaster safetyBetter than 96% of counties
- School gradeB+, better than 93% of counties
- Air qualityBetter than 91% of counties
- Crime safetyBetter than 84% of counties
Where Jefferson County ranks low
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 11% of counties
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 11% of counties
- Cheap childcare$1,088 a month, better than only 12% of counties
- Low property taxBetter than only 13% of counties
- State infrastructureBetter than only 14% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Jefferson County
A household needs to earn about $54,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Jefferson County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $69,549, 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 Jefferson County's effective rate of 1.34%, 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 6 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Jefferson County
Jefferson County 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 Jefferson County.
Who works in Jefferson County, and how
Work in Jefferson County centers on health care & social and retail trade. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 85%
- Work from home 8%
- Transit, walk, or bike 7%
Life in Jefferson County
Jefferson County has more restaurants and bars per resident than 90% of counties and more parkland per resident than 96% of counties. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Jefferson County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Jefferson County growing, and who is moving in?
Jefferson County has lost about 4% of its population over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from New York, NY.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Jefferson County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Jefferson County, month by month
Jefferson County sees roughly 71 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 83 degrees. January highs sit near 33, with lows near 13. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 33° | 23° | 13° |
| April | 56° | 44° | 33° |
| July | 83° | 72° | 59° |
| October | 63° | 52° | 40° |
Flying in and out of Jefferson County
The nearest airport, Watertown International, is about 6 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Bradley International, about 217 miles away.
The best schools in and around Jefferson County
Schools across Jefferson County average a B+, better than 93% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Bashaw Elementary SchoolA+ · 75% proficient
- Guardino Elementary SchoolA · 68% proficient
- Alexandria Central Elementary SchoolA · 65% proficient
Top middle schools
- Thousand Islands Middle SchoolA · 60% proficient
- Indian River Middle SchoolB · 46% proficient
- Clarke Middle SchoolC+ · 37% proficient
Top high schools
- Indian River High SchoolA+ · 98% proficient
- Sandy Creek High SchoolA+ · 95% proficient
- Watertown Senior High SchoolA+ · 91% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Jefferson County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Jefferson 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 Jefferson County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who Jefferson County suits
Common questions about living in Jefferson County
Is Jefferson County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Jefferson County ranks 905th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on heat safety, low disaster risk, and good schools, and lowest on car insurance costs and taxes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Jefferson County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $192,870. The overall cost of living runs about 6% below the national average. Set against a $69,549 median income, cost of living beats 34% of counties.
Is Jefferson County safe?
Yes, Jefferson County is safer than 84% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $272 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Jefferson County?
July highs average about 83 degrees, and January highs near 33 with lows near 13. That works out to about 71 pleasant days a year, more than 22% of counties.
What are the best neighborhoods in Jefferson County?
Using the default rankings, the highest-scoring areas are Adams & Sackets Harbor, Dexter, and Theresa. The ranked list and the re-weightable map above let you re-sort them for your own priorities.
Is Jefferson County good for families?
Schools beat 93% of counties, crime safety beats 84%, and childcare runs $1,088 a month.
Is Jefferson County good for remote workers?
Cost of living against local pay beats 34% of counties, though advertised internet speeds beat only 26% of counties. About 8% of workers already work from home.
Compare Jefferson County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Jefferson County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Jefferson 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.
Jefferson County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Jefferson County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Jefferson County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Jefferson County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Jefferson County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Jefferson 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.