Best PlacesRoosevelt Island, Manhattan, NY Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Roosevelt Island, Manhattan, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. The coast is close, and the measures below put a number on how close. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Roosevelt Island, Manhattan ranks 602nd of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on big-city access by a wide margin, and taxes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Roosevelt Island, Manhattan
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.
Roosevelt Island, Manhattan's strengths and weaknesses
Where Roosevelt Island, Manhattan ranks high
- Big-city accessBetter than 99% of neighborhoods
- School gradeA+, better than 99% of neighborhoods
- Low property taxBetter than 99% of neighborhoods
- TransitBetter than 97% of neighborhoods
- BikingBetter than 96% of neighborhoods
Where Roosevelt Island, Manhattan ranks low
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 1% of neighborhoods
- Short commute37.0 minutes each way, better than only 4% of neighborhoods
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 4% of neighborhoods
- Internet speedBetter than only 11% of neighborhoods
- State infrastructureBetter than only 14% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in Roosevelt Island, Manhattan
A household needs to earn about $279,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Roosevelt Island, Manhattan home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $118,452, 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 Roosevelt Island, Manhattan's effective rate of 0.34%, 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 Roosevelt Island, Manhattan
Roosevelt Island, Manhattan's age mix sits close to the national median, 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 Roosevelt Island, Manhattan.
Who works in Roosevelt Island, Manhattan, and how
Work in Roosevelt Island, Manhattan centers on health care & social and education. Unemployment is low, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 9%
- Work from home 22%
- Transit, walk, or bike 69%
Life in Roosevelt Island, Manhattan
The coast is about 20 minutes away. Distance to the water changes a lot across Roosevelt Island, Manhattan, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Roosevelt Island, Manhattan, month by month
Roosevelt Island, Manhattan sees roughly 75 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 88 degrees. January highs sit near 43, with lows near 28. The comfortable stretch runs May, June, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 43° | 35° | 28° |
| April | 65° | 53° | 44° |
| July | 88° | 78° | 70° |
| October | 69° | 60° | 52° |
Flying in and out of Roosevelt Island, Manhattan
Laguardia sits about 4 miles away. It is a large hub and boarded 16.3 million passengers in 2025, with 118 nonstop destinations.
The best schools in and around Roosevelt Island, Manhattan
Schools across Roosevelt Island, Manhattan average an A+, better than 99% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Brooklyn School Of InquiryA+ · 93% proficient
- Ps/is 217 Roosevelt IslandA+ · 80% proficient
Top middle schools
- Mark Twain Is 239 For The Gifted And TalentedA+ · 83% proficient
- Knowledge And Power Preparatory Academy ViC− · 28% proficient
Top high schools
- Professional Pathways High SchoolA− · 60% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Roosevelt Island, Manhattan school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Roosevelt Island, Manhattan 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 Roosevelt Island, Manhattan against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in Roosevelt Island, Manhattan
Is Roosevelt Island, Manhattan a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Roosevelt Island, Manhattan ranks 602nd of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on big-city access, good schools, and low property taxes, and lowest on taxes and long commutes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Roosevelt Island, Manhattan expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $1,140,298. The overall cost of living runs about 84% above the national average. Set against a $118,452 median income, cost of living beats 32% of neighborhoods.
Is Roosevelt Island, Manhattan safe?
Yes, Roosevelt Island, Manhattan is safer than 86% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $263 per resident a year.
Compare Roosevelt Island, Manhattan with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Roosevelt Island, Manhattan. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Roosevelt Island, Manhattan 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.
Roosevelt Island, Manhattan detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Roosevelt Island, Manhattan: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Roosevelt Island, Manhattan: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Roosevelt Island, Manhattan: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Roosevelt Island, Manhattan: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Roosevelt Island, Manhattan 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.