Best PlacesWest Carthage, NY Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around West Carthage, 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.
West Carthage ranks 20,221st of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on low disaster risk by a wide margin, and civic engagement ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in West Carthage
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 Carthage's strengths and weaknesses
Where West Carthage ranks high
- Disaster safetyBetter than 96% of towns
- WalkabilityBetter than 95% of towns
- Air qualityBetter than 92% of towns
- TransitBetter than 90% of towns
- Heat safetyBetter than 87% of towns
Where West Carthage ranks low
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 12% of towns
- Low property taxBetter than only 13% of towns
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 14% of towns
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 15% of towns
- Cheap childcare$1,088 a month, better than only 18% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in West Carthage
A household needs to earn about $53,000 a year to comfortably buy the median West Carthage home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $55,718, 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 Carthage's effective rate of 1.38%, 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 West Carthage
West Carthage's age mix sits close to the national median, 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 Carthage.
Who works in West Carthage, and how
Work in West Carthage centers on construction and health care & social. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 85%
- Work from home 9%
- Transit, walk, or bike 6%
Life in West Carthage
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across West Carthage.
What the weather is like in West Carthage, month by month
West Carthage sees roughly 72 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 83 degrees. January highs sit near 31, with lows near 14. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 31° | 22° | 14° |
| April | 56° | 44° | 33° |
| July | 83° | 72° | 61° |
| October | 63° | 51° | 41° |
Flying in and out of West Carthage
The nearest airport, Watertown International, is about 20 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Bradley International, about 204 miles away.
The best schools in and around West Carthage
Schools across West Carthage average a B+, better than 85% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- West Carthage Elementary SchoolB− · 43% proficient
Top middle schools
- Carthage Middle SchoolC+ · 37% proficient
Top high schools
- Carthage Senior High SchoolA+ · 90% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every West Carthage school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
West Carthage 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 Carthage against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in West Carthage
Is West Carthage a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, West Carthage ranks 20,221st of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on low disaster risk, walkability, and clean air, and lowest on civic engagement and property taxes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is West Carthage expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $187,667. The overall cost of living runs about 12% below the national average. Set against a $55,718 median income, cost of living beats 22% of towns.
Is West Carthage safe?
Yes, West Carthage is safer than 60% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $283 per resident a year.
Compare West Carthage with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to West Carthage. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in West Carthage 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 Carthage detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for West Carthage: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in West Carthage: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of West Carthage: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in West Carthage: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
West Carthage 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.