Best PlacesNorth Haven, CT Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around North Haven, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Local pay runs high here, and housing takes the biggest bite out of it. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
North Haven ranks 1,922nd of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on civic engagement by a wide margin, and childcare costs are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in North Haven
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 Haven's strengths and weaknesses
Where North Haven ranks high
- Voter turnoutBetter than 99% of towns
- TransitBetter than 97% of towns
- Internet speedBetter than 96% of towns
- Big-city accessBetter than 96% of towns
- Household income$137,283 median, better than 96% of towns
Where North Haven ranks low
- Cheap childcare$1,583 a month, better than only 2% of towns
- QuietBetter than only 6% of towns
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 6% of towns
- Low property taxBetter than only 7% of towns
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 17% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in North Haven
A household needs to earn about $121,000 a year to comfortably buy the median North Haven home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $137,283, 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 Haven's effective rate of 1.66%, 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 10 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 Haven
North Haven runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for North Haven.
Who works in North Haven, and how
Work in North Haven centers on education and health care & social. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 81%
- Work from home 14%
- Transit, walk, or bike 5%
Life in North Haven
North Haven has more restaurants and bars per resident than 86% of towns and more parkland per resident than 88% of towns. The coast is about 12 minutes away. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of North Haven and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in North Haven, month by month
North Haven sees roughly 68 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 86 degrees. January highs sit near 43, with lows near 25. The comfortable stretch runs May, June, and August through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 43° | 34° | 25° |
| April | 61° | 50° | 40° |
| July | 86° | 77° | 67° |
| October | 69° | 59° | 49° |
Flying in and out of North Haven
The nearest airport, Tweed/New Haven, is about 8 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Bradley International, about 40 miles away.
The best schools in and around North Haven
Schools across North Haven average a B, better than 66% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Spring Glen SchoolA · 67% proficient
- Ridge Road Elementary SchoolA− · 60% proficient
- Green Acres Elementary SchoolA− · 60% proficient
Top middle schools
- North Haven Middle SchoolA− · 57% proficient
- North Branford Intermediate SchoolB− · 43% proficient
- Dag Hammarskjold Middle SchoolC · 35% proficient
Top high schools
- Cheshire High SchoolA− · 59% proficient
- North Haven High SchoolB+ · 52% proficient
- Lyman Hall High SchoolB · 49% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every North Haven school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
North Haven 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 Haven against the other 50,332 towns.
Who North Haven suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 96% of towns, internet is fast and widely advertised, and 14% already work from home.
Common questions about living in North Haven
Is North Haven a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, North Haven ranks 1,922nd of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on civic engagement, transit, and fast internet, and lowest on childcare costs and noise. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is North Haven expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $414,301. The overall cost of living runs about 2% above the national average. Set against a $137,283 median income, cost of living beats 96% of towns.
Is North Haven safe?
Yes, North Haven is safer than 73% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $197 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in North Haven?
July highs average about 86 degrees, and January highs near 43 with lows near 25. That works out to about 68 pleasant days a year, more than 21% of towns.
Is North Haven good for families?
Schools beat 66% of towns, crime safety beats 73%, and childcare runs $1,583 a month.
Compare North Haven with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to North Haven. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in North Haven 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 Haven detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for North Haven: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in North Haven: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of North Haven: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in North Haven: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
North Haven 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.