Best PlacesWilliamsburg, Brooklyn, NY Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Williamsburg, Brooklyn, 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.
Williamsburg, Brooklyn ranks 2,263rd of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. The coast is about 13 minutes away. Its strengths are big-city access and walkability. The cost shows up in taxes, the cost of living against local pay, and car insurance costs.
The best neighborhoods in Williamsburg, Brooklyn
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.
Williamsburg, Brooklyn's strengths and weaknesses
Williamsburg, Brooklyn lands in the middle because its strengths and weaknesses roughly balance. Big-city access is the standout, in the top 1% of neighborhoods. Walkability and transit follow.
The one real hole is taxes, near the bottom of the country. The cost of living against local pay and car insurance costs also cost it ground. Cost swings more from one part of Williamsburg, Brooklyn to another than it does between Williamsburg, Brooklyn and its neighbors, which the map below shows.
Where Williamsburg, Brooklyn ranks high
- Big-city accessBetter than 99% of neighborhoods
- WalkabilityBetter than 98% of neighborhoods
- TransitBetter than 98% of neighborhoods
- Low property taxBetter than 96% of neighborhoods
- School gradeB+, better than 90% of neighborhoods
Where Williamsburg, Brooklyn ranks low
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 1% of neighborhoods
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 6% of neighborhoods
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 7% of neighborhoods
- Tree shadeBetter than only 8% of neighborhoods
- Short commute33.1 minutes each way, better than only 10% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in Williamsburg, Brooklyn
A household needs to earn about $306,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Williamsburg, Brooklyn home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $94,746, 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 Williamsburg, Brooklyn's effective rate of 0.43%, 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 Williamsburg, Brooklyn
Williamsburg, Brooklyn runs younger than the country, 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 Williamsburg, Brooklyn.
Who works in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, and how
Work in Williamsburg, Brooklyn centers on professional & technical and health care & social. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 12%
- Work from home 20%
- Transit, walk, or bike 67%
Life in Williamsburg, Brooklyn
Williamsburg, Brooklyn has more restaurants and bars per resident than 76% of neighborhoods and more late-night spots per resident than 68% of neighborhoods. The coast is about 13 minutes away. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Williamsburg, Brooklyn and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, month by month
Williamsburg, Brooklyn sees roughly 75 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 88 degrees. January highs sit near 43, with lows near 28. The comfortable stretch runs May, June, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 43° | 35° | 28° |
| April | 65° | 53° | 44° |
| July | 88° | 78° | 70° |
| October | 69° | 60° | 52° |
Flying in and out of Williamsburg, Brooklyn
Laguardia sits about 6 miles away. It is a large hub and boarded 16.3 million passengers in 2025, with 118 nonstop destinations.
The best schools in and around Williamsburg, Brooklyn
Schools across Williamsburg, Brooklyn average a B+, better than 90% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Brooklyn School Of InquiryA+ · 93% proficient
- Ps 196 Ten EyckA+ · 75% proficient
- Ps 147 Issac RemsenA+ · 75% proficient
Top middle schools
- Is 318 Eugenio Maria De HostosB+ · 50% proficient
- Conselyea Preparatory SchoolB+ · 48% proficient
- Knowledge And Power Preparatory Academy ViC− · 28% proficient
Top high schools
- Brooklyn Latin School (the)A+ · 98% proficient
- High School For Enterprise Business & Technology (the)A+ · 84% proficient
- Williamsburg High School Of Art And Technology (the)A+ · 83% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Williamsburg, Brooklyn school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Williamsburg, Brooklyn 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 Williamsburg, Brooklyn against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Who Williamsburg, Brooklyn suits
Retirees
Set weather, quiet, and health care weights on the map to test the fit.
Common questions about living in Williamsburg, Brooklyn
Is Williamsburg, Brooklyn a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Williamsburg, Brooklyn ranks 2,263rd of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on big-city access, walkability, and transit, and lowest on taxes and the cost of living against local pay. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Williamsburg, Brooklyn expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $1,232,870. The overall cost of living runs about 99% above the national average. Set against a $94,746 median income, cost of living beats 6% of neighborhoods.
Is Williamsburg, Brooklyn safe?
Yes, Williamsburg, Brooklyn is safer than 78% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $342 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Williamsburg, Brooklyn?
July highs average about 88 degrees, and January highs near 43 with lows near 28. That works out to about 75 pleasant days a year, more than 33% of neighborhoods.
Is Williamsburg, Brooklyn good for families?
Schools beat 90% of neighborhoods, crime safety beats 78%, and childcare runs $1,344 a month.
Is Williamsburg, Brooklyn good for remote workers?
Cost of living against local pay beats 6% of neighborhoods, though advertised internet speeds beat only 14% of neighborhoods. About 20% of workers already work from home.
Compare Williamsburg, Brooklyn with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Williamsburg, Brooklyn 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.
Williamsburg, Brooklyn detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Williamsburg, Brooklyn: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Williamsburg, Brooklyn: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Williamsburg, Brooklyn: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Williamsburg, Brooklyn: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Williamsburg, Brooklyn 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.