Best PlacesNorth River, NY Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around North River, 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 River ranks 21,484th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on quiet by a wide margin, and cell coverage ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in North River
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 River's strengths and weaknesses
Where North River ranks high
- QuietBetter than 97% of towns
- Healthcare accessBetter than 96% of towns
- Air qualityBetter than 93% of towns
- School gradeA−, better than 86% of towns
- Internet speedBetter than 86% of towns
Where North River ranks low
- Cell coverageBetter than only 5% of towns
- Nice weatherabout 58 pleasant days a year, better than only 6% of towns
- Low vacancyBetter than only 10% of towns
- Cheap childcare$1,254 a month, better than only 12% of towns
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 15% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in North River
A household needs to earn about $70,000 a year to comfortably buy the median North River home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $60,219, 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 North River's effective rate of 1.02%, 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 North River
North River 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 River.
Who works in North River, and how
Work in North River centers on professional & technical and retail trade. Unemployment is low, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 67%
- Work from home 29%
- Transit, walk, or bike 5%
Life in North River
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across North River.
What the weather is like in North River, month by month
North River sees roughly 58 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 85 degrees. January highs sit near 34, with lows near 14. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 34° | 24° | 14° |
| April | 59° | 46° | 33° |
| July | 85° | 71° | 58° |
| October | 63° | 51° | 39° |
Flying in and out of North River
The nearest airport, Adirondack Regional, is about 45 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Bradley International, about 143 miles away.
The best schools in and around North River
Schools across North River average an A−, better than 86% of towns.
Top high schools
- Indian Lake Central SchoolA · 60% proficient
- Johnsburg Central SchoolA · 60% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every North River school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
North River 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 River against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in North River
Is North River a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, North River ranks 21,484th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on quiet, health care access, and clean air, and lowest on cell coverage and the weather. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is North River expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $260,807. The overall cost of living runs about 2% below the national average. Set against a $60,219 median income, cost of living beats 21% of towns.
Is North River safe?
Yes, North River is safer than 78% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $217 per resident a year.
Compare North River with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to North River. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in North River 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 River detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for North River: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in North River: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of North River: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in North River: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
North River 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.