Best PlacesWest Islip, NY Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around West Islip, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Local pay runs high here, and housing takes the biggest bite out of it. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
West Islip ranks 165th of 2,098 U.S. cities on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on few empty homes by a wide margin, and noise is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in West Islip
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 Islip's strengths and weaknesses
Where West Islip ranks high
- Low vacancyBetter than 99% of cities
- Household income$184,536 median, better than 99% of cities
- Internet speedBetter than 98% of cities
- School gradeA, better than 97% of cities
- Healthcare accessBetter than 94% of cities
Where West Islip ranks low
- QuietBetter than only 3% of cities
- Low property taxBetter than only 6% of cities
- Cell coverageBetter than only 10% of cities
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 11% of cities
- State infrastructureBetter than only 14% of cities
What it costs to buy a home in West Islip
A household needs to earn about $202,000 a year to comfortably buy the median West Islip home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $184,536; the gap is small, which keeps homes within reach of local pay.
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 Islip's effective rate of 2.10%, 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 West Islip
West Islip'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 Islip.
Who works in West Islip, and how
Work in West Islip centers on health care & social and education. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 80%
- Work from home 14%
- Transit, walk, or bike 6%
Life in West Islip
The coast is about 10 minutes away. Distance to the water changes a lot across West Islip, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in West Islip, month by month
West Islip 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 Islip
The nearest airport, Long Island MacArthur, is about 12 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is John F Kennedy International, about 26 miles away.
The best schools in and around West Islip
Schools across West Islip average an A, better than 97% of cities.
Top elementary schools
- Bayview Elementary SchoolA+ · 75% proficient
- Paul J Bellew Elementary SchoolA+ · 75% proficient
- Oquenock Elementary SchoolA+ · 75% proficient
Top middle schools
- Beach Street Middle SchoolA+ · 69% proficient
- Udall Road Middle SchoolB+ · 51% proficient
- Bay Shore Middle SchoolB− · 42% proficient
Top high schools
- West Islip Senior High SchoolA+ · 97% proficient
- Bay Shore Senior High SchoolA+ · 91% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every West Islip school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
West Islip 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 Islip against the other 2,097 cities.
Who West Islip suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 92% of cities, internet is fast and widely advertised, and 14% already work from home.
Common questions about living in West Islip
Is West Islip a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, West Islip ranks 165th of 2,098 cities. It scores highest on few empty homes, high incomes, and fast internet, and lowest on noise 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 Islip expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $657,298. The overall cost of living runs about 29% above the national average. Set against a $184,536 median income, cost of living beats 92% of cities.
Is West Islip safe?
Yes, West Islip is safer than 94% of cities. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $184 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in West Islip?
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 Islip good for families?
Schools beat 97% of cities, crime safety beats 94%, and childcare runs $1,476 a month.
Compare West Islip with other cities
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to West Islip. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in West Islip 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 Islip detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for West Islip: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in West Islip: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of West Islip: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in West Islip: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
West Islip 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.