Best PlacesUpper Benson, NY Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Upper Benson, 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.
Upper Benson ranks 17,095th 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 Upper Benson
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.
Upper Benson's strengths and weaknesses
Where Upper Benson ranks high
- QuietBetter than 97% of towns
- School gradeA, better than 95% of towns
- Tree shadeBetter than 94% of towns
- Air qualityBetter than 92% of towns
- Crime safetyBetter than 91% of towns
Where Upper Benson ranks low
- Cell coverageBetter than only 2% of towns
- BikingBetter than only 3% of towns
- Low vacancyBetter than only 10% of towns
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 11% of towns
- Local economyBetter than only 13% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Upper Benson
A household needs to earn about $57,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Upper Benson home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $74,108, 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 Upper Benson's effective rate of 1.35%, 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 9 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Upper Benson
Upper Benson 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 Upper Benson.
Who works in Upper Benson, and how
Work in Upper Benson centers on public administration and health care & social. Unemployment runs well above the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 89%
- Work from home 8%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in Upper Benson
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Upper Benson.
What the weather is like in Upper Benson, month by month
Upper Benson sees roughly 97 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 84 degrees. January highs sit near 33, with lows near 21. The comfortable stretch runs May, June, and August through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 33° | 28° | 21° |
| April | 57° | 50° | 41° |
| July | 84° | 78° | 69° |
| October | 62° | 55° | 46° |
Flying in and out of Upper Benson
The nearest airport, Albany International, is about 45 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Bradley International, about 125 miles away.
The best schools in and around Upper Benson
Schools across Upper Benson average an A, better than 95% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Northville Elementary SchoolA · 70% proficient
- Mayfield Elementary SchoolA− · 58% proficient
- Wheelerville SchoolB · 48% proficient
Top high schools
- Gloversville High SchoolA+ · 80% proficient
- Mayfield Jr/sr High SchoolA− · 60% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Upper Benson school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Upper Benson 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 Upper Benson against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Upper Benson
Is Upper Benson a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Upper Benson ranks 17,095th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on quiet, good schools, and tree cover, and lowest on cell coverage and biking. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Upper Benson expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $203,169. The overall cost of living runs about 2% below the national average. Set against a $74,108 median income, cost of living beats 41% of towns.
Is Upper Benson safe?
Yes, Upper Benson is safer than 91% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $177 per resident a year.
Compare Upper Benson with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Upper Benson. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Upper Benson 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.
Upper Benson detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Upper Benson: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Upper Benson: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Upper Benson: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Upper Benson: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Upper Benson 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.