The 10 Best Places To Live In New York In 2023


The best places to live in New York for 2023 are East Hills, Malverne, and Williston Park. Find out where your city or town ranks.

While New York City looms large in the minds of people looking to move to New York, the best places to live in New York have a leg up on the Big Apple.

The slogan “I Love New York” is stamped on every license plate, and all the highway welcome signs greet you with the same love. Rightfully, New Yorkers love their state and want you to love it too.

With the bigger is better lifestyle in New York, we had to find the best places to live in New York.

To produce a comprehensive list of New York’s best cities, we took a look at things that matter like low cost of living, gold star schools, and an above average employment rate to name a few.

So grab yourself a fully loaded cup of diner coffee, a NY slice of pizza, and read on to find the best places to live in New York.

What city is the best place to live in New York for 2023? According to the US Census and FBI data, East Hills is the best place to live in New York if you care about home values, low crime, and high quality of life.

If you live anywhere near New York’s Nassau County, consider yourself lucky. The star on The Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree has nothing on these places.

If you are still looking for your preferred city in the top ten places to live in New York, we ranked all 163 places in New York at the bottom.

If you’re looking for something more national, check out the best states in America or the best places to live in America.

For more New York reading, check out:

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The 10 best places to live In New York for 2023

East Hills, NY

Overall SnackAbility

5
/10
Population 7,231
Rank Last Year 2
Median Home Value $1,212,000
Unemployment Rate 3.3%

From North Hills, it’s not a long drive to our best city in New York, East Hills. The data shows that East Hills is one smart village; over 40% of its residents have a master’s degree or higher. You might want to do a quick study session or two before moving here, just to make sure you’ll fit in. Especially when you’re meeting new friends at the exquisite village green.

Life on the North Shore of Long Island isn’t cheap, but folks in East Hills are the 2nd best-paid in New York, with residents pulling in a median household income of $250,001/year. With that kind of wealth, It’s no surprise that East Hills has the 4th lowest poverty level in the state, 1.8%. It also helps explain why, of all the places in New York, East Hills residents have the 3rd highest rate of health insurance coverage, 99.5%.

More on East Hills: Real Estate | Cost Of Living

Malverne, NY

Overall SnackAbility

7
/10
Population 8,583
Rank Last Year 1
Median Home Value $541,300
Unemployment Rate 3.0%

Malverne is a village of 8,583 in the Town of Hempstead. Malverne’s population is on the older end of the scale for this list, with a median age of 44, so this might be a better choice for someone who doesn’t prioritize constant activity and just wants to live in a friendly, relaxing community. It also might be for someone who appreciates a good deal, because despite being under an hour from all the places listed so far, Malverne has the lowest home prices of the bunch. And with folks still earning $139,915/year, Malverne’s a close second for lowest cost of living among the places we’re covering here.

Unemployment in Malverne is also a super low 3.0%, which is good enough to be the 17th lowest in New York. One more thing for people who value security: Malverne is among the safest places in New York, so you won’t have to run back home if you forget to lock the door here.

More on Malverne: Real Estate | Cost Of Living

Williston Park, NY

Source: Public domain
Overall SnackAbility

7
/10
Population 7,571
Rank Last Year 4
Median Home Value $615,900
Unemployment Rate 4.2%

Wrapping up our list of best places to live in New York is Williston Park, another village proudly representing the Town of Hempstead. The poverty level in Williston Park is under 3%, so you know people are generally doing alright for themselves here. Williston Park is also the 12th most densely populated place in New York, and the most densely populated among cities on this list. That means there’s plenty of action to keep you occupied here. Like signing up for some classes at Hofstra University or just going out for a night of high culture at the school’s art museum.

Williston Park’s inclusion on this list means that 90% of the best places to live in New York are on the western end of Long Island, so that’s a good place to start looking if you’re planning a move soon.

More on Williston Park: Real Estate | Cost Of Living

Cedarhurst, NY

Overall SnackAbility

7
/10
Population 7,290
Rank Last Year 9
Median Home Value $730,800
Unemployment Rate 3.6%

We’re heading to the South Shore of Long Island to reach New York’s 4th best place to call home, Cedarhurst. For starters, out-of-towners will have no problem visiting your home in Cedarhurst, considering it’s just 15 minutes from John F. Kennedy Airport.

For golf and more, residents can visit the nearby North Woodmere Park. There’s also Andrew J. Parise Park if you just want a local spot to spend the day with the kids.

Speaking of kids, 28.45% of Cedarhurst households have kids, and local schools are fantastic. In fact, 46% of adults in Cedarhurst are highly educated.

That explains the rock-bottom levels of unemployment and poverty. It also accounts for Cedarhurst having the 98th highest proportion of residents with health insurance in New York.

Homes in Cedarhurst sell for a median price of $730,800, and the median income is $99,155.

More on Cedarhurst: Real Estate | Cost Of Living

Floral Park, NY

Overall SnackAbility

7
/10
Population 16,180
Rank Last Year 3
Median Home Value $621,000
Unemployment Rate 4.5%

Floral Park is a village of 16,180 located in Long Island’s Nassau County. Floral Park doesn’t need to be told it’s an awesome spot; its motto is “A Great Place to Live,” after all. Schools in Floral Park got an 8/10 average rating on GreatSchools, so you can rest assured that your kids are getting off on the right foot here.

Speaking of youth, Floral Park’s median age is 43, which is on the lower end of the spectrum for this list. If you combine that with the village’s status as the 14th most densely populated place in New York, you can see that Floral Park is one of the more dynamic places that we’re covering here. And with a poverty rate well below the 3% mark, Floral Park makes sure all its residents are along for the ride.

As a bonus, Floral Park is only fifteen minutes from JFK Airport, so far off friends and family will have a super easy time coming for a visit.

More on Floral Park: Real Estate | Cost Of Living

North Hills, NY

Overall SnackAbility

7
/10
Population 5,443
Rank Last Year 5
Median Home Value $1,168,500
Unemployment Rate 2.3%

We’re starting off our tour of the best places to live in New York with North Hills, a village of 5,443 located just east of New York City. Life in North Hills is fairly ritzy; I mean, the nearby Gold Coast inspired The Great Gatsby with its over-the-top opulence after all. In that spirit, we should mention that homes in North Hills are the 6th most expensive in New York, going for a median price of $1,168,500. That’s not much of an issue when you’re one of the richest places in New York, though, seeing as the median household income in North Hills is a cool $166,908/year.

The good news is that the economy works for more than just the hyper-wealthy here. At 2.3% unemployment and 1.9% of people living below the poverty level, North Hills has the 11th lowest unemployment and 5th lowest poverty level in New York.

One important thing to note before moving to North Hills is that, with a median age of 56, it’s far and away the oldest place to make this list. So if you’re cool with a more mature, slow-paced lifestyle, North Hills should suit you just fine. But if you crave constant action, maybe consider one of the other cities listed below as an alternative.

More on North Hills: Real Estate | Cost Of Living

Rockville Centre, NY

Overall SnackAbility

7
/10
Population 25,768
Rank Last Year 7
Median Home Value $680,900
Unemployment Rate 4.6%

A neighbor of Malverne, Rockville Centre is a somewhat urbanized village of 25,768, making it the most populous of the places listed here. Rockville Centre doesn’t stand out as the 7th place thanks to any one statistic; across the board strong numbers land it on this list. For example, 98.8% of residents have health insurance, the unemployment and poverty levels are around the top 25 statewide, as well as home prices and household incomes.

The educational system in Rockville Centre is also top-quality, with GreatSchools giving an average score of 8/10 for local public schools. And schools are more than just about learning here, because at Molloy College’s Madison Theatre, big name acts put on shows all the time.

More on Rockville Centre: Real Estate | Cost Of Living

Massapequa Park, NY

Overall SnackAbility

6
/10
Population 17,149
Rank Last Year 8
Median Home Value $539,900
Unemployment Rate 5.3%

We’re going down to Long Island’s South Shore to reach our 8th best place to call home in New York, Massapequa Park. While Massapequa Park is fairly expensive, its combination of a lower than average median home price (for the region) and higher income of $146,722/year actually gives it the lowest cost of living of places you’ll see on this list.

Affordability is an especially great thing when it reaches all levels of a community. That’s what happens in Massapequa Park, where the poverty rate is a measly 4.1%, the 24th lowest in all of New York. A strong economy is great and all, but we think what Massapequa Park residents love best about their home is having the world-famous Jones Beach right in their neighborhood. It’s hard to assign a statistical value to that sort of perk though!

More on Massapequa Park: Real Estate | Cost Of Living

Kings Point, NY

Overall SnackAbility

5
/10
Population 5,493
Rank Last Year 10
Median Home Value $2,000,001
Unemployment Rate 3.6%

Kings Point sits on a throne as the city with the highest home prices in New York. And with home prices that high, it means everyone is knocking down the the door to live. Why? Because it’s the 9th best place to live in New York based on the most recent data.

Located on Manhasset Bay in Nassau County on the northside of Long Island, Kings Point is a gem of a place to live. Besides the huge demand for housing, the town also ranks well for safety as crime rates are in the lowest 10% of the state. And Great Neck North High School, the public high school for the town, gets a solid A rating from Niche as one the better in the state.

In terms of things to do, the town has an abundance of parks like Steppingstone Park on the water and Kings Point Park in the middle of town. And being a suburb of New York City, there’s always the option to spend the afternoon in Brooklyn or Manhattan. A lot of people would argue it’s better to live this close to the City than in it.

More on Kings Point: Real Estate | Cost Of Living

Rye, NY

Overall SnackAbility

10
/10
Population 16,459
Rank Last Year 6
Median Home Value $1,529,400
Unemployment Rate 5.3%

We’re taking our first foray out of Long Island to reach the 10th best place to call home in New York, Rye. We named Rye the best place for families in New York, and a lot of those same factors land Rye here on this list. For example, GreatSchools gave Rye’s public schools a stellar 9/10 rating. Rye also has the lowest overall crime rate in New York, with crime being about 85% less frequent here than the national average.

As far as quality of life goes, Rye residents enjoy the a median household income of $207,930/year, the 5th highest in the state. That helps explain why 98.7% of folks here have health insurance.

Rye is located just 15 minutes outside of White Plains and New Rochelle.

More on Rye: Real Estate | Crime Report | Cost Of Living

Mapping The Best And Worst Places To Live in New York

Best Places To Live In New York Size Requirement

Before we even started to collect data on the best places to live in New York, we had to answer a tough question: Is it fair to pit Albany with a population of 99,402 against places with a population of 18?

We firmly decided no, that just isn’t fair.

So to create our ranking, we broke the best places to live into three tiers:

  • Cities — Populations over 5,000
  • Towns — Populations between 1,000 and 5,000
  • Small Towns — Populations below 1,000

This left us with 163 cities, 465 towns, and 340 small towns.

We then decided, no matter how much anyone loves their town, the best cities to live in New York have more of everything and therefore you need to have over 5,000 people to truly be ‘the best’.

Now we also realize that city living might not be your cup of tea, so we ran the same analysis on the best towns and then again for the best small towns.

You can see the results of those best place rankings at the end of the article.

Methodology: How We Calculated The Best Cities To Live In New York

Now that we had our set of the best possible cities, it was time to rank them.

We ranked each place in New York across a number of criteria from one to 163, with one being the best.

We then took the average rank across all criteria, with the city posting the lowest overall score being crowned the winner of the title “Best Place To Live In New York”.

The criteria we looked to determine the best places were:

  • Median Home Values
  • Median Income
  • Population Density (Higher better)
  • Unemployment Rate
  • Commute Time
  • Crime
  • Education Levels
  • Health Insurance Coverage
  • Poverty rates

Sources of criteria include the New Census Data and FBI Crime Data. You can download the best places data here.

After the dust settled, what was the best place to live in New York? That would be East Hills.

If your city or town isn’t among the top 10, jump down to the bottom of the post to see a detailed chart of the best places in New York.

Otherwise, buckle up for a ride down good living lane with East Hills at the end of the cul-de-sac.

Summary: The Best Places In New York

If you’re looking at areas in New York with the best economic situations, where there’s lower than average crime, and a lot to do, this is an accurate list.

East Hills made a strong showing to take in the overall number one spot for the best place to live in New York for 2023.

Best Towns To Live In New York

  1. Kensington (Pop. 1,176)
  2. Orchard Park (Pop. 3,197)
  3. Clarence Center (Pop. 2,341)
  4. East Greenbush (Pop. 4,960)
  5. Pittsford (Pop. 1,573)
  6. Halesite (Pop. 2,504)
  7. Katonah (Pop. 2,077)
  8. Roslyn Estates (Pop. 1,200)
  9. Point Lookout (Pop. 1,128)
  10. Cayuga Heights (Pop. 3,799)

Best Small Towns To Live In New York

  1. Copake Falls (Pop. 208)
  2. Chautauqua (Pop. 567)
  3. Virgil (Pop. 367)
  4. Grand View-on-Hudson (Pop. 366)
  5. Woodsburgh (Pop. 756)
  6. Hewlett Neck (Pop. 363)
  7. Malverne Park Oaks (Pop. 653)
  8. Belle Terre (Pop. 725)
  9. Plandome Manor (Pop. 884)
  10. North Hornell (Pop. 763)

If you’re curious enough, here are the worst places to live in New York according to the data:

  1. Jamestown (Pop. 28,818)
  2. Rochester (Pop. 211,100)
  3. Monticello (Pop. 7,199)

For more New York reading, check out:

Best Places To Live In New York

Rank City Population Unemployment Rate Home Value
1 East Hills 7,231 3.3% $1,212,000
2 Malverne 8,583 3.0% $541,300
3 Williston Park 7,571 4.2% $615,900
4 Cedarhurst 7,290 3.6% $730,800
5 Floral Park 16,180 4.5% $621,000
6 North Hills 5,443 2.3% $1,168,500
7 Rockville Centre 25,768 4.6% $680,900
8 Massapequa Park 17,149 5.3% $539,900
9 Kings Point 5,493 3.6% $2,000,001
10 Rye 16,459 5.3% $1,529,400
11 Farmingdale 8,468 4.2% $427,600
12 Lawrence 6,793 3.9% $1,125,000
13 Bayville 6,780 2.9% $591,400
14 Mineola 20,837 3.5% $563,700
15 Lynbrook 20,325 3.7% $519,200
16 Hastings-On-Hudson 8,505 1.9% $728,300
17 Long Beach 34,820 4.0% $570,900
18 Bronxville 6,569 4.1% $1,039,100
19 Sea Cliff 5,084 13.0% $743,400
20 Pelham Manor 5,698 5.8% $918,500
21 East Rockaway 10,108 8.9% $531,700
22 New Hyde Park 10,262 3.0% $631,400
23 Great Neck Plaza 7,429 5.9% $399,800
24 Babylon 12,181 3.2% $524,900
25 Pelham 7,255 6.3% $711,200
26 Scarsdale 18,063 4.3% $1,474,000
27 Northport 7,360 1.1% $646,900
28 Irvington 6,594 3.2% $801,900
29 Great Neck 11,034 6.0% $893,100
30 Ballston Spa 5,510 1.7% $251,900
31 Larchmont 6,532 10.3% $1,217,400
32 Valley Stream 40,304 5.0% $469,200
33 Westbury 15,772 3.9% $496,200
34 Port Jefferson 7,951 3.3% $562,400
35 Dobbs Ferry 11,511 6.5% $646,300
36 Williamsville 5,419 1.7% $198,800
37 Nyack 7,303 5.4% $526,300
38 Manorhaven 6,923 3.8% $571,200
39 New Hempstead 5,440 1.3% $593,800
40 Briarcliff Manor 7,587 5.7% $734,700
41 Wesley Hills 6,105 3.6% $698,300
42 Beacon 13,713 4.1% $342,200
43 Lindenhurst 27,169 5.9% $395,100
44 Hamburg 9,722 2.2% $199,700
45 Saratoga Springs 28,110 2.4% $366,100
46 North Tonawanda 30,592 6.4% $140,500
47 Glen Cove 28,187 3.1% $535,100
48 Freeport 44,328 5.5% $387,200
49 Kenmore 15,207 5.4% $152,600
50 Rye Brook 9,909 9.5% $794,700
51 Lake Grove 11,110 4.7% $449,900
52 Pleasantville 7,469 6.8% $701,900
53 Harrison 28,635 5.6% $894,000
54 Scotia 7,305 4.6% $153,200
55 Amityville 9,542 5.7% $430,500
56 Ilion 7,826 5.1% $78,500
57 Mamaroneck 19,989 4.5% $640,900
58 Suffern 11,376 4.0% $309,400
59 Glens Falls 14,784 5.2% $162,000
60 Horseheads 6,564 3.3% $119,200
61 Patchogue 12,341 5.3% $364,400
62 Mechanicville 5,191 6.2% $158,300
63 Colonie 7,792 2.0% $237,600
64 Croton-On-Hudson 8,289 7.2% $605,700
65 Plattsburgh 19,969 5.0% $146,500
66 White Plains 59,452 5.7% $559,100
67 New Rochelle 80,685 7.2% $578,000
68 Canandaigua 10,563 3.4% $186,300
69 East Aurora 6,095 3.7% $281,700
70 Lancaster 10,046 2.0% $139,400
71 Johnstown 8,247 4.6% $112,400
72 Cohoes 17,931 7.7% $177,300
73 Oneonta 12,764 5.8% $156,800
74 Fairport 5,452 4.6% $220,100
75 Kaser 5,433 8.3% $1,057,700
76 Saranac Lake 5,003 2.7% $161,000
77 Corning 10,708 6.5% $123,100
78 Geneva 12,577 4.1% $106,100
79 Peekskill 25,304 6.8% $308,300
80 Yonkers 209,730 6.9% $420,000
81 Canton 6,994 7.4% $175,700
82 Mount Kisco 10,904 4.3% $432,000
83 Ossining 27,368 3.3% $377,700
84 Elmsford 5,176 6.4% $472,100
85 Fredonia 10,018 5.7% $150,100
86 New Paltz 7,378 9.1% $297,100
87 Watervliet 10,363 5.0% $154,000
88 Chestnut Ridge 10,211 6.4% $577,800
89 Hempstead 58,532 8.2% $358,200
90 Hudson Falls 7,413 5.8% $137,800
91 Warwick 6,686 1.0% $349,900
92 Depew 15,188 5.4% $134,400
93 Sleepy Hollow 10,176 8.1% $743,500
94 New Square 9,433 8.1% $552,200
95 Ithaca 31,819 5.6% $282,000
96 North Syracuse 6,796 3.9% $120,600
97 Herkimer 7,239 8.8% $95,800
98 Airmont 9,964 6.3% $575,300
99 Port Chester 31,317 7.2% $491,100
100 Middletown 30,086 6.3% $187,800
Editor’s Note: We updated this article for 2023. This is our tenth time ranking the best places to live in New York.

About Chris Kolmar

Chris Kolmar has been in the real estate business for almost ten years now. He originally worked for Movoto Real Estate as the director of marketing before founding HomeSnacks.

He believes the key to finding the right place to live comes down to looking at the data, reading about things to do, and, most importantly, checking it out yourself before you move.

If you've been looking for a place to live in the past several years, you've probably stumbled upon his writing already.

You can find out more about him on LinkedIn or his website.