Best PlacesVan Nest, Bronx, NY Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Van Nest, Bronx, 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.
Van Nest, Bronx ranks 2,331st of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on big-city access by a wide margin, and long commutes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Van Nest, Bronx
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.
Van Nest, Bronx's strengths and weaknesses
Where Van Nest, Bronx ranks high
- Big-city accessBetter than 98% of neighborhoods
- WalkabilityBetter than 97% of neighborhoods
- Internet speedBetter than 96% of neighborhoods
- TransitBetter than 96% of neighborhoods
- Cell coverageBetter than 95% of neighborhoods
Where Van Nest, Bronx ranks low
- Short commute44.1 minutes each way, better than only 1% of neighborhoods
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 1% of neighborhoods
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 4% of neighborhoods
- Tree shadeBetter than only 6% of neighborhoods
- Local economyBetter than only 13% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in Van Nest, Bronx
A household needs to earn about $186,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Van Nest, Bronx home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $74,437, 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 Van Nest, Bronx's effective rate of 0.72%, 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 Van Nest, Bronx
Van Nest, Bronx runs younger than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Van Nest, Bronx.
Who works in Van Nest, Bronx, and how
Work in Van Nest, Bronx centers on health care & social and retail trade. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 38%
- Work from home 12%
- Transit, walk, or bike 50%
Life in Van Nest, Bronx
The coast is about 9 minutes away. Distance to the water changes a lot across Van Nest, Bronx, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Van Nest, Bronx, month by month
Van Nest, Bronx sees roughly 70 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 90 degrees. January highs sit near 44, with lows near 29. The comfortable stretch runs May, June, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 44° | 36° | 29° |
| April | 65° | 53° | 45° |
| July | 90° | 80° | 72° |
| October | 70° | 61° | 54° |
Flying in and out of Van Nest, Bronx
Laguardia sits about 5 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 Van Nest, Bronx
Schools across Van Nest, Bronx average a B+, better than 94% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Active Learning Elementary School (the)A+ · 80% proficient
- Ps 83 Donald HertzB+ · 55% proficient
- Ps/ms 498 Van Nest AcademyB+ · 53% proficient
Top high schools
- Brooklyn College AcademyA+ · 98% proficient
- Voyages Prep-south QueensA · 73% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Van Nest, Bronx school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Van Nest, Bronx 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 Van Nest, Bronx against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in Van Nest, Bronx
Is Van Nest, Bronx a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Van Nest, Bronx ranks 2,331st of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on big-city access, walkability, and fast internet, and lowest on long commutes and taxes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Van Nest, Bronx expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $720,649. The overall cost of living runs about 9% above the national average. Set against a $74,437 median income, cost of living beats 32% of neighborhoods.
Is Van Nest, Bronx safe?
Yes, Van Nest, Bronx is safer than 90% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $250 per resident a year.
Compare Van Nest, Bronx with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Van Nest, Bronx. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Van Nest, Bronx 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.
Van Nest, Bronx detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Van Nest, Bronx: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Van Nest, Bronx: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Van Nest, Bronx: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Van Nest, Bronx: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Van Nest, Bronx 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.