Best PlacesUlster, PA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Ulster, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Several measures below read low, and the ranked lists name which ones. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Ulster ranks 19,104th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on low crime by a wide margin, and a weak job market ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Ulster
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.
Ulster's strengths and weaknesses
Where Ulster ranks high
- Crime safetyBetter than 95% of towns
- Air qualityBetter than 85% of towns
- School gradeA−, better than 84% of towns
- Big-city accessBetter than 79% of towns
- Heat safetyBetter than 78% of towns
Where Ulster ranks low
- Local economyBetter than only 14% of towns
- State infrastructureBetter than only 19% of towns
- Nice weatherabout 68 pleasant days a year, better than only 22% of towns
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 24% of towns
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 27% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Ulster
A household needs to earn about $52,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Ulster home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $74,800, 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 Ulster's effective rate of 0.97%, 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 7 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Ulster
Ulster 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 Ulster.
Who works in Ulster, and how
Work in Ulster centers on manufacturing and retail trade. Unemployment is low, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 92%
- Work from home 6%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in Ulster
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Ulster.
What the weather is like in Ulster, month by month
Ulster sees roughly 68 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 87 degrees. January highs sit near 38, with lows near 18. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 38° | 28° | 18° |
| April | 62° | 47° | 34° |
| July | 87° | 72° | 58° |
| October | 67° | 53° | 41° |
Flying in and out of Ulster
The nearest airport, Elmira/Corning Regional, is about 30 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Newark Liberty International, about 144 miles away.
The best schools in and around Ulster
Schools across Ulster average an A−, better than 84% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Troy Intrmd SchA+ · 75% proficient
- Snyder El SchA · 70% proficient
- Northeast Bradford El SchA · 68% proficient
Top middle schools
- Harlan Rowe MsB+ · 49% proficient
Top high schools
- Athens Area HsA · 73% proficient
- Troy Area JshsB+ · 55% proficient
- Sayre Area HsB+ · 55% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Ulster school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Ulster 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 Ulster against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Ulster
Is Ulster a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Ulster ranks 19,104th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on low crime, clean air, and good schools, and lowest on a weak job market and state infrastructure. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Ulster expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $193,214. The overall cost of living runs about 5% below the national average. Set against a $74,800 median income, cost of living beats 44% of towns.
Is Ulster safe?
Yes, Ulster is safer than 95% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $136 per resident a year.
Compare Ulster with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Ulster. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Ulster 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.
Ulster detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Ulster: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Ulster: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Ulster: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Ulster: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Ulster 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.