Best PlacesNorth Franklin, NY Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around North Franklin, 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 Franklin ranks 18,066th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on tree cover by a wide margin, and property taxes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in North Franklin
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 Franklin's strengths and weaknesses
Where North Franklin ranks high
- Tree shadeBetter than 94% of towns
- Air qualityBetter than 92% of towns
- Disaster safetyBetter than 85% of towns
- Big-city accessBetter than 84% of towns
- School gradeA−, better than 83% of towns
Where North Franklin ranks low
- Low property taxBetter than only 6% of towns
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 10% of towns
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 15% of towns
- Cheap childcare$1,088 a month, better than only 18% of towns
- WalkabilityBetter than only 19% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in North Franklin
A household needs to earn about $48,000 a year to comfortably buy the median North Franklin home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $79,856, 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 Franklin's effective rate of 1.72%, 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 Franklin
North Franklin runs older 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 North Franklin.
Who works in North Franklin, and how
Work in North Franklin centers on education and other services. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 72%
- Work from home 21%
- Transit, walk, or bike 8%
Life in North Franklin
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across North Franklin.
What the weather is like in North Franklin, month by month
North Franklin sees roughly 80 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 82 degrees. January highs sit near 33, with lows near 17. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 33° | 25° | 17° |
| April | 58° | 45° | 34° |
| July | 82° | 70° | 60° |
| October | 62° | 51° | 42° |
Flying in and out of North Franklin
The nearest airport, Greater Binghamton/Edwin A Link Field, is about 47 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Bradley International, about 128 miles away.
The best schools in and around North Franklin
Schools across North Franklin average an A−, better than 83% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Valleyview Elementary SchoolA− · 58% proficient
- Unadilla Elementary SchoolB+ · 53% proficient
Top middle schools
- Oneonta Middle SchoolB · 44% proficient
- Unatego Middle SchoolB− · 40% proficient
Top high schools
- Unatego Junior-senior High SchoolA+ · 95% proficient
- Oneonta Senior High SchoolA+ · 90% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every North Franklin school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
North Franklin 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 Franklin against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in North Franklin
Is North Franklin a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, North Franklin ranks 18,066th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on tree cover, 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 North Franklin expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $164,789. The overall cost of living runs about 7% below the national average. Set against a $79,856 median income, cost of living beats 55% of towns.
Is North Franklin safe?
Yes, North Franklin is safer than 65% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $265 per resident a year.
Compare North Franklin with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to North Franklin. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in North Franklin 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 Franklin detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for North Franklin: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in North Franklin: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of North Franklin: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in North Franklin: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
North Franklin 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.