Best PlacesSouth Bristol, NY Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around South Bristol, 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.
South Bristol ranks 5,551st of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on health care access by a wide margin, and property taxes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in South Bristol
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.
South Bristol's strengths and weaknesses
Where South Bristol ranks high
- Healthcare accessBetter than 99% of towns
- Tree shadeBetter than 94% of towns
- School gradeA, better than 92% of towns
- QuietBetter than 92% of towns
- Crime safetyBetter than 90% of towns
Where South Bristol ranks low
- Low property taxBetter than only 7% of towns
- Cheap childcare$1,317 a month, better than only 8% of towns
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 10% of towns
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 12% of towns
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 15% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in South Bristol
A household needs to earn about $78,000 a year to comfortably buy the median South Bristol home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $95,320, 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 South Bristol's effective rate of 1.65%, 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 6 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in South Bristol
South Bristol runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for South Bristol.
Who works in South Bristol, and how
Work in South Bristol centers on education and construction. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 84%
- Work from home 12%
- Transit, walk, or bike 5%
Life in South Bristol
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across South Bristol.
What the weather is like in South Bristol, month by month
South Bristol sees roughly 87 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 87 degrees. January highs sit near 38, with lows near 20. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 38° | 29° | 20° |
| April | 62° | 48° | 36° |
| July | 87° | 74° | 61° |
| October | 68° | 54° | 43° |
Flying in and out of South Bristol
The nearest airport, Frederick Douglass/Greater Rochester International, is about 29 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Pittsburgh International, about 213 miles away.
The best schools in and around South Bristol
Schools across South Bristol average an A, better than 92% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Naples Elementary SchoolA+ · 73% proficient
- Honeoye Elementary SchoolA · 63% proficient
Top high schools
- Naples High SchoolA− · 65% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every South Bristol school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
South Bristol 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 South Bristol against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in South Bristol
Is South Bristol a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, South Bristol ranks 5,551st of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on health care access, tree cover, and good schools, and lowest on property taxes and childcare costs. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is South Bristol expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $267,510. The overall cost of living runs about 3% above the national average. Set against a $95,320 median income, cost of living beats 68% of towns.
Is South Bristol safe?
Yes, South Bristol is safer than 90% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $182 per resident a year.
Compare South Bristol with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to South Bristol. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in South Bristol 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.
South Bristol detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for South Bristol: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in South Bristol: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of South Bristol: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in South Bristol: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
South Bristol 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.