Best PlacesWest Babylon, NY Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around West Babylon, 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.
West Babylon ranks 481st of 2,098 U.S. cities on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on fast internet by a wide margin, and property taxes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in West Babylon
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.
West Babylon's strengths and weaknesses
Where West Babylon ranks high
- Internet speedBetter than 97% of cities
- School gradeA−, better than 93% of cities
- Big-city accessBetter than 92% of cities
- Low vacancyBetter than 89% of cities
- Household income$139,146 median, better than 87% of cities
Where West Babylon ranks low
- Low property taxBetter than only 7% of cities
- QuietBetter than only 7% of cities
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 9% of cities
- State infrastructureBetter than only 14% of cities
- Cheap childcare$1,476 a month, better than only 18% of cities
What it costs to buy a home in West Babylon
A household needs to earn about $162,000 a year to comfortably buy the median West Babylon home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $139,146, 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 West Babylon's effective rate of 2.05%, 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 10 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in West Babylon
West Babylon's age mix sits close to the national median, and households here run larger than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for West Babylon.
Who works in West Babylon, and how
Work in West Babylon centers on health care & social and retail trade. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 81%
- Work from home 12%
- Transit, walk, or bike 7%
Life in West Babylon
West Babylon has more parkland per resident than 90% of cities. The coast is about 14 minutes away. That concentrates in some parts of West Babylon and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in West Babylon, month by month
West Babylon sees roughly 74 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 86 degrees. January highs sit near 44, with lows near 26. The comfortable stretch runs May, June, and August through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 44° | 35° | 26° |
| April | 62° | 51° | 42° |
| July | 86° | 77° | 69° |
| October | 69° | 59° | 50° |
Flying in and out of West Babylon
The nearest airport, Long Island MacArthur, is about 14 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is John F Kennedy International, about 23 miles away.
The best schools in and around West Babylon
Schools across West Babylon average an A−, better than 93% of cities.
Top elementary schools
- John F Kennedy SchoolA+ · 80% proficient
- Babylon Memorial Grade SchoolA+ · 80% proficient
- Santapogue SchoolA+ · 78% proficient
Top middle schools
- Lindenhurst Middle SchoolA · 60% proficient
- West Babylon Junior High SchoolB+ · 52% proficient
- Robert Moses Middle SchoolB− · 41% proficient
Top high schools
- West Babylon Senior High SchoolA+ · 93% proficient
- North Babylon High SchoolA+ · 91% proficient
- Lindenhurst Senior High SchoolA+ · 89% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every West Babylon school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
West Babylon 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 West Babylon against the other 2,097 cities.
Who West Babylon suits
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 12% already work from home.
Common questions about living in West Babylon
Is West Babylon a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, West Babylon ranks 481st of 2,098 cities. It scores highest on fast internet, good schools, and big-city access, and lowest on property taxes and noise. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is West Babylon expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $529,157. The overall cost of living runs about 22% above the national average. Set against a $139,146 median income, cost of living beats 69% of cities.
Is West Babylon safe?
Yes, West Babylon is safer than 78% of cities. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $236 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in West Babylon?
July highs average about 86 degrees, and January highs near 44 with lows near 26. That works out to about 74 pleasant days a year, more than 35% of cities.
Is West Babylon good for families?
Schools beat 93% of cities, crime safety beats 78%, and childcare runs $1,476 a month.
Compare West Babylon with other cities
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to West Babylon. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in West Babylon 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.
West Babylon detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for West Babylon: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in West Babylon: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of West Babylon: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in West Babylon: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
West Babylon 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.