Best PlacesNew York Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in New York, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Distance to the water drives a lot of the difference between one part and the next. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
New York ranks 13th of 50 U.S. states on the BestNeighborhood index. The coast is about 34 minutes away. Its strengths are walkability and transit. The cost shows up in long commutes, noise, and a weak job market.
The best neighborhoods in New York
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 New York
The counties of New York, grouped by direction and ranked by the BestNeighborhood standard score across every neighborhood in each. Each note says how that part differs from the rest of the state.
Albany County, Rensselaer County & Putnam County
Tree cover is thicker, local pay stretches further, and more residents vote.
Queens County, Suffolk County & Nassau County
Big-city amenities are closer, though homes cost more.
Saratoga County, Clinton County & Warren County
Streets are more car-dependent and transit reaches fewer jobs.
Kings County, New York County & Bronx County
Biking is better, though it is noisier.
Monroe County, Erie County & Onondaga County
Commutes are shorter, though incomes run lower.
Orange County, Ulster County & Dutchess County
Prices have run up more and more homes sit empty.
Broome County, Chautauqua County & Tompkins County
Advertised internet is slower and health outcomes score lower.
Oneida County, St. Lawrence County & Herkimer County
Fewer adults hold degrees.
New York shows why a single number is not enough. Some neighborhoods score in the bottom 1% of the country and others in the top 1%. Pick the area first, then the home.
New York's strengths and weaknesses
New York lands in the middle because its strengths and weaknesses roughly balance. Walkability is the standout, in the top 1% of states. Transit and good schools follow.
The one real hole is long commutes, near the bottom of the country. Noise and a weak job market also cost it ground. That one depends almost entirely on which part you pick, which is what the map below settles.
Where New York ranks high
- WalkabilityBetter than 99% of states
- TransitBetter than 99% of states
- School gradeB+, better than 97% of states
- Big-city accessBetter than 97% of states
- BikingBetter than 87% of states
Where New York ranks low
- Short commute32.7 minutes each way, better than only 1% of states
- QuietBetter than only 1% of states
- Local economyBetter than only 3% of states
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 3% of states
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 5% of states
What it costs to buy a home in New York
A household needs to earn about $165,000 a year to comfortably buy the median New York home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $100,445, 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 New York's effective rate of 1.36%, 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 New York
New York'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 New York.
Who works in New York, and how
Work in New York centers on health care & social and education. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 54%
- Work from home 15%
- Transit, walk, or bike 31%
Life in New York
New York has more restaurants and bars per resident than 88% of states and more parkland per resident than 71% of states. New York has 127 miles of ocean coastline. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of New York and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in New York, month by month
New York sees roughly 72 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 90 degrees. January highs sit near 44, with lows near 29. The comfortable stretch runs May, June, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 44° | 36° | 29° |
| April | 65° | 53° | 45° |
| July | 90° | 80° | 72° |
| October | 70° | 61° | 54° |
The best schools in and around New York
Schools across New York average a B+, better than 97% of states.
Top elementary schools
- Success Academy Charter School-harlem 3A+ · 98% proficient
- Jeffrey Ratner-robert Seaman Elementary SchoolA+ · 96% proficient
- Mcvey Elementary SchoolA+ · 96% proficient
Top middle schools
- Christa Mcauliffe School (the) /is 187A+ · 95% proficient
- Is 98 Bay AcademyA+ · 93% proficient
- Nyc Lab Ms For Collaborative StudiesA+ · 93% proficient
Top high schools
- Williamsville East High SchoolA+ · 100% proficient
- Sanford H Calhoun High SchoolA+ · 100% proficient
- Orchard Park High SchoolA+ · 100% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every New York school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
New York 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 New York against the other 49 states.
Who New York suits
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 15% already work from home.
Retirees
Set weather, quiet, and health care weights on the map to test the fit.
Common questions about living in New York
Is New York a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, New York ranks 13th of 50 states. It scores highest on walkability, transit, and good schools, and lowest on long commutes and noise. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is New York expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $586,370. The overall cost of living runs about 27% above the national average. Set against a $100,445 median income, cost of living beats 7% of states.
Is New York safe?
Yes, New York is safer than 77% of states. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $309 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in New York?
July highs average about 90 degrees, and January highs near 44 with lows near 29. That works out to about 72 pleasant days a year, more than 27% of states.
What are the best areas in New York?
Using the default rankings, the highest-scoring areas are Albany County, Rensselaer County & Putnam County, Queens County, Suffolk County & Nassau County, and Saratoga County, Clinton County & Warren County. The ranked list and the re-weightable map above let you re-sort them for your own priorities.
Is New York good for families?
Schools beat 97% of states, crime safety beats 77%, and childcare runs $1,331 a month.
Is New York good for remote workers?
Cost of living against local pay beats 7% of states, and the fastest advertised internet here beats 85% of states. About 15% of workers already work from home.
Compare New York with other states
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to New York. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in New York 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.
New York detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for New York: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in New York: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of New York: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in New York: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
New York 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.
- 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.