Best PlacesNorth Columbia, NY Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around North Columbia, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Several measures below read low, and the ranked lists name which ones. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
North Columbia ranks 8,561st of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on low crime by a wide margin, and property taxes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in North Columbia
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.
North Columbia's strengths and weaknesses
Where North Columbia ranks high
- Crime safetyBetter than 99% of towns
- Disaster safetyBetter than 95% of towns
- Air qualityBetter than 91% of towns
- School gradeA−, better than 89% of towns
- Heat safetyBetter than 87% of towns
Where North Columbia ranks low
- Low property taxBetter than only 9% of towns
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 13% of towns
- Nice weatherabout 64 pleasant days a year, better than only 14% of towns
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 15% of towns
- Cheap childcare$1,088 a month, better than only 18% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in North Columbia
A household needs to earn about $48,000 a year to comfortably buy the median North Columbia home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $79,866, 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 North Columbia's effective rate of 1.55%, 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 North Columbia
North Columbia runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for North Columbia.
Who works in North Columbia, and how
Work in North Columbia centers on health care & social and education. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 88%
- Work from home 9%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in North Columbia
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across North Columbia.
What the weather is like in North Columbia, month by month
North Columbia sees roughly 64 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 85 degrees. January highs sit near 34, with lows near 15. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 34° | 24° | 15° |
| April | 59° | 45° | 33° |
| July | 85° | 72° | 60° |
| October | 65° | 52° | 41° |
Flying in and out of North Columbia
The nearest airport, Syracuse Hancock International, is about 53 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Bradley International, about 141 miles away.
The best schools in and around North Columbia
Schools across North Columbia average an A−, better than 89% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Mount Markham Elementary SchoolA · 65% proficient
- Barringer Road Elementary SchoolA · 64% proficient
- Frankfort-schuyler Elementary SchoolB · 48% proficient
Top middle schools
- Frankfort-schuyler Middle SchoolC+ · 38% proficient
- Mount Markham Middle SchoolC+ · 38% proficient
- Gregory B Jarvis Middle SchoolC+ · 36% proficient
Top high schools
- Mount Markham Senior High SchoolA+ · 94% proficient
- Frankfort-schuyler Central High SchoolA+ · 93% proficient
- Central Valley AcademyA+ · 90% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every North Columbia school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
North Columbia 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 North Columbia against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in North Columbia
Is North Columbia a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, North Columbia ranks 8,561st of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on low crime, low disaster risk, and clean air, 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 North Columbia expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $165,190. The overall cost of living runs about 16% below the national average. Set against a $79,866 median income, cost of living beats 74% of towns.
Is North Columbia safe?
Yes, North Columbia is safer than 99% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $113 per resident a year.
Compare North Columbia with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to North Columbia. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in North Columbia 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.
North Columbia detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for North Columbia: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in North Columbia: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of North Columbia: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in North Columbia: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
North Columbia 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.