Best PlacesWest Leyden, NY Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around West Leyden, 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 Leyden ranks 15,557th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on low disaster risk by a wide margin, and the weather ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in West Leyden
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 Leyden's strengths and weaknesses
Where West Leyden ranks high
- Disaster safetyBetter than 94% of towns
- Crime safetyBetter than 94% of towns
- Air qualityBetter than 92% of towns
- QuietBetter than 91% of towns
- Heat safetyBetter than 90% of towns
Where West Leyden ranks low
- Nice weatherabout 61 pleasant days a year, better than only 9% of towns
- Low vacancyBetter than only 10% of towns
- Cell coverageBetter than only 10% of towns
- Low property taxBetter than only 13% of towns
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 13% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in West Leyden
A household needs to earn about $54,000 a year to comfortably buy the median West Leyden home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $84,183, 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 Leyden's effective rate of 1.40%, 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 9 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 Leyden
West Leyden's age mix sits close to the national median.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for West Leyden.
Who works in West Leyden, and how
Work in West Leyden centers on health care & social and construction. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 88%
- Work from home 7%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in West Leyden
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across West Leyden.
What the weather is like in West Leyden, month by month
West Leyden sees roughly 61 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 85 degrees. January highs sit near 34, with lows near 15. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 34° | 24° | 15° |
| April | 59° | 45° | 33° |
| July | 85° | 72° | 60° |
| October | 65° | 52° | 41° |
Flying in and out of West Leyden
The nearest airport, Syracuse Hancock International, is about 38 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Bradley International, about 178 miles away.
The best schools in and around West Leyden
Schools across West Leyden average a B+, better than 87% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Camden Elementary SchoolB+ · 55% proficient
- Louis V Denti Elementary SchoolB · 45% proficient
- West Leyden Elementary SchoolB− · 43% proficient
Top middle schools
- Adirondack Middle SchoolB− · 40% proficient
- Camden Middle SchoolC+ · 39% proficient
Top high schools
- Adirondack High SchoolA+ · 94% proficient
- Camden Senior High SchoolA+ · 90% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every West Leyden school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
West Leyden 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 Leyden against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in West Leyden
Is West Leyden a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, West Leyden ranks 15,557th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on low disaster risk, low crime, and clean air, and lowest on the weather and empty homes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is West Leyden expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $189,553. The overall cost of living runs about 9% below the national average. Set against a $84,183 median income, cost of living beats 66% of towns.
Is West Leyden safe?
Yes, West Leyden is safer than 94% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $176 per resident a year.
Compare West Leyden with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to West Leyden. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in West Leyden 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 Leyden detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for West Leyden: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in West Leyden: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of West Leyden: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in West Leyden: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
West Leyden 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.