Best PlacesSouth Salem, NY Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around South Salem, 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.
South Salem ranks 733rd of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on high incomes by a wide margin, and property taxes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in South Salem
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 Salem's strengths and weaknesses
Where South Salem ranks high
- Household income$210,958 median, better than 99% of towns
- Healthcare accessBetter than 99% of towns
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 99% of towns
- Educational attainmentBetter than 99% of towns
- Health outlookBetter than 99% of towns
Where South Salem ranks low
- Low property taxBetter than only 3% of towns
- Cheap childcare$1,476 a month, better than only 4% of towns
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 6% of towns
- Short commute36.6 minutes each way, better than only 10% of towns
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 13% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in South Salem
A household needs to earn about $242,000 a year to comfortably buy the median South Salem home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $210,958, 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 South Salem's effective rate of 1.95%, 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 South Salem
South Salem runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for South Salem.
Who works in South Salem, and how
Work in South Salem centers on professional & technical and health care & social. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 62%
- Work from home 28%
- Transit, walk, or bike 10%
Life in South Salem
South Salem has more restaurants and bars per resident than 99% of towns. The coast is about 25 minutes away. That concentrates in some parts of South Salem and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in South Salem, month by month
South Salem sees roughly 71 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 86 degrees. January highs sit near 41, with lows near 21. The comfortable stretch runs May through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 41° | 31° | 21° |
| April | 63° | 50° | 38° |
| July | 86° | 75° | 63° |
| October | 68° | 55° | 43° |
Flying in and out of South Salem
The nearest airport, Westchester County, is about 16 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Laguardia, about 37 miles away.
The best schools in and around South Salem
Schools across South Salem average an A+, better than 98% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Increase Miller Elementary SchoolA+ · 88% proficient
- Meadow Pond Elementary SchoolA+ · 85% proficient
- Scotland Elementary SchoolA+ · 85% proficient
Top middle schools
- Middlebrook SchoolA+ · 74% proficient
- East Ridge Middle SchoolA+ · 71% proficient
- John Jay Middle SchoolA · 67% proficient
Top high schools
- John Jay High SchoolA+ · 98% proficient
- Wilton High SchoolA · 79% proficient
- Ridgefield High SchoolA · 76% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every South Salem school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
South Salem 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 Salem against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in South Salem
Is South Salem a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, South Salem ranks 733rd of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on high incomes, health care access, and what local pay buys, 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 Salem expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $800,146. The overall cost of living runs about 26% above the national average. Set against a $210,958 median income, cost of living beats 99% of towns.
Is South Salem safe?
Yes, South Salem is safer than 74% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $234 per resident a year.
Compare South Salem with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to South Salem. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in South Salem 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 Salem detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for South Salem: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in South Salem: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of South Salem: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in South Salem: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
South Salem 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.