Best PlacesNorth Ilion, NY Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around North Ilion, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. This page is for people who live here or already know they want to. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
North Ilion ranks 29,114th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on civic engagement by a wide margin, and noise is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in North Ilion
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 Ilion's strengths and weaknesses
Where North Ilion ranks high
- Voter turnoutBetter than 99% of towns
- Low vacancyBetter than 98% of towns
- Local economyBetter than 97% of towns
- Disaster safetyBetter than 97% of towns
- Tree shadeBetter than 94% of towns
Where North Ilion ranks low
- QuietBetter than only 1% of towns
- Low property taxBetter than only 1% of towns
- Short commute37.7 minutes each way, better than only 8% of towns
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 13% of towns
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 15% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in North Ilion
A household needs to earn about $37,000 a year to comfortably buy the median North Ilion home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $61,563, 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 Ilion's effective rate of 2.54%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Who lives in North Ilion
North Ilion runs younger than the country, though it still carries a larger-than-average share of residents over 65.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for North Ilion.
Who works in North Ilion, and how
Work in North Ilion centers on education and wholesale trade. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 84%
- Work from home 9%
- Transit, walk, or bike 7%
Life in North Ilion
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across North Ilion.
What the weather is like in North Ilion, month by month
North Ilion sees roughly 66 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 Ilion
The nearest airport, Syracuse Hancock International, is about 55 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Bradley International, about 142 miles away.
The best schools in and around North Ilion
Schools across North Ilion average an A−, better than 84% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Herkimer Elementary SchoolA · 66% proficient
Top high schools
- Herkimer High SchoolB+ · 55% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every North Ilion school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
North Ilion 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 Ilion against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in North Ilion
Is North Ilion a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, North Ilion ranks 29,114th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on civic engagement, few empty homes, and a strong job market, and lowest on noise and property taxes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is North Ilion expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $114,900. The overall cost of living runs about 15% below the national average. Set against a $61,563 median income, cost of living beats 33% of towns.
Is North Ilion safe?
Yes, North Ilion is safer than 82% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $211 per resident a year.
Compare North Ilion with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to North Ilion. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in North Ilion 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 Ilion detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for North Ilion: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in North Ilion: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of North Ilion: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in North Ilion: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
North Ilion 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.