Best PlacesMontgomery County, NY Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Montgomery 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.
Montgomery County ranks 1,489th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on transit by a wide margin, and property taxes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Montgomery 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 Montgomery County
The parts of Montgomery 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.
Fonda
Fewer homes sit empty, local pay stretches further, and more households have young kids.
Canajoharie
It is quieter, though fewer adults hold degrees.
Fort Plain
Homes cost less, though transit reaches fewer jobs.
Amsterdam
Crime runs higher and incomes run lower.
St. Johnsville
Advertised internet is faster, though health outcomes score lower.
Scores across Montgomery County run from about the 10th to the 79th percentile nationally. The map is where that becomes a choice of area.
Montgomery County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Montgomery County ranks high
- TransitBetter than 93% of counties
- Air qualityBetter than 90% of counties
- Disaster safetyBetter than 90% of counties
- Big-city accessBetter than 86% of counties
- School gradeB, better than 83% of counties
Where Montgomery County ranks low
- Low property taxBetter than only 1% of counties
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 9% of counties
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 11% of counties
- QuietBetter than only 11% of counties
- Cheap childcare$1,088 a month, better than only 12% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Montgomery County
A household needs to earn about $49,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Montgomery County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $68,958, 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 Montgomery County's effective rate of 2.25%, 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 Montgomery County
Montgomery County's age mix sits close to the national median.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Montgomery County.
Who works in Montgomery County, and how
Work in Montgomery 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 85%
- Work from home 10%
- Transit, walk, or bike 5%
Life in Montgomery County
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Montgomery County.
Is Montgomery County growing, and who is moving in?
Montgomery County has held roughly flat in population over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Albany, NY.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Montgomery County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Montgomery County, month by month
Montgomery County sees roughly 75 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 Montgomery County
The nearest airport, Albany International, is about 30 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Bradley International, about 109 miles away.
The best schools in and around Montgomery County
Schools across Montgomery County average a B, better than 83% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Fonda-fultonville K-4 SchoolA+ · 75% proficient
- Broadalbin-perth Elementary SchoolA · 71% proficient
- Sacandaga SchoolA · 70% proficient
Top middle schools
- Schalmont Middle SchoolB+ · 48% proficient
- Scotia-glenville Middle SchoolB · 47% proficient
- William H Golding Middle SchoolB · 43% proficient
Top high schools
- Fonda-fultonville Senior High SchoolA+ · 98% proficient
- Scotia-glenville Senior High SchoolA+ · 94% proficient
- Schalmont High SchoolA+ · 94% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Montgomery County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Montgomery 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 Montgomery County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who Montgomery County suits
Common questions about living in Montgomery County
Is Montgomery County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Montgomery County ranks 1,489th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on transit, clean air, and low disaster risk, 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 Montgomery County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $156,019. The overall cost of living runs about 7% below the national average. Set against a $68,958 median income, cost of living beats 32% of counties.
Is Montgomery County safe?
Yes, Montgomery County is safer than 83% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $273 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Montgomery County?
July highs average about 84 degrees, and January highs near 33 with lows near 21. That works out to about 75 pleasant days a year, more than 30% of counties.
What are the best neighborhoods in Montgomery County?
Using the default rankings, the highest-scoring areas are Fonda, Canajoharie, and Fort Plain. The ranked list and the re-weightable map above let you re-sort them for your own priorities.
Compare Montgomery County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Montgomery County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Montgomery 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.
Montgomery County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Montgomery County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Montgomery County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Montgomery County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Montgomery County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Montgomery 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.