Best PlacesWest Bangor, NY Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around West Bangor, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. This page is for people who live here or already know they want to. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
West Bangor ranks 28,127th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on low disaster risk by a wide margin, and education levels rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in West Bangor
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 Bangor's strengths and weaknesses
Where West Bangor ranks high
- Disaster safetyBetter than 90% of towns
- Air qualityBetter than 80% of towns
- Local economyBetter than 77% of towns
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 77% of towns
- Cell coverageBetter than 76% of towns
Where West Bangor ranks low
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 8% of towns
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 14% of towns
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 15% of towns
- Big-city accessBetter than only 18% of towns
- Cheap childcare$1,088 a month, better than only 18% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in West Bangor
A household needs to earn about $29,000 a year to comfortably buy the median West Bangor home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $65,449, 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 West Bangor's effective rate of 1.05%, 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 4 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 Bangor
West Bangor runs younger 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 West Bangor.
Who works in West Bangor, and how
Work in West Bangor centers on health care & social and agriculture & forestry. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 81%
- Work from home 13%
- Transit, walk, or bike 6%
Life in West Bangor
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across West Bangor.
What the weather is like in West Bangor, month by month
West Bangor sees roughly 69 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 84 degrees. January highs sit near 29, with lows near 10. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 29° | 20° | 10° |
| April | 56° | 44° | 32° |
| July | 84° | 71° | 58° |
| October | 63° | 50° | 38° |
Flying in and out of West Bangor
The nearest airport, Massena International-Richards Field, is about 22 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Bradley International, about 217 miles away.
The best schools in and around West Bangor
Schools across West Bangor average a B, better than 70% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Saranac Elementary SchoolB+ · 53% proficient
- Brushton Grade SchoolB · 48% proficient
Top middle schools
- Saranac Middle SchoolC+ · 36% proficient
Top high schools
- Saranac High SchoolA+ · 98% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every West Bangor school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
West Bangor 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 Bangor against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in West Bangor
Is West Bangor a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, West Bangor ranks 28,127th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on low disaster risk, clean air, and a strong job market, and lowest on education levels and car insurance costs. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is West Bangor expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $108,673. The overall cost of living runs about 17% below the national average. Set against a $65,449 median income, cost of living beats 40% of towns.
Is West Bangor safe?
West Bangor is safer than 33% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $354 per resident a year.
Compare West Bangor with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to West Bangor. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in West Bangor 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 Bangor detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for West Bangor: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in West Bangor: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of West Bangor: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in West Bangor: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
West Bangor 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.