New York cities

The best places to live in New York

New York's largest cities ranked on cost, safety, schools, jobs and quality of life. Bellmore leads the list.

We scored New York's cities on the same factors as our state rankings, then ranked them. Below are the 10 largest by population. Two scores per city: value (what you get for the cost) and overall livability (everything combined). Tap any city for its full profile.

#	City	Median home	Rent	Value	Overall
14	Cheektowaga	$127,100	$886	78	73
103	Albany	$186,500	$1,061	34	36
110	Buffalo	$112,900	$849	40	34
112	Mount Vernon	$380,500	$1,406	24	33
122	New Rochelle	$578,000	$1,660	15	25
128	Syracuse	$99,200	$861	43	22
130	Schenectady	$118,300	$965	42	20
131	Rochester	$93,100	$915	41	20
132	New York	$660,700	$1,579	10	19
135	Yonkers	$420,000	$1,550	15	15

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Sources: Home prices and rent from Zillow; income and jobs from the U.S. Census; schools from state education data; crime from the FBI; air quality from the EPA. Rankings are within New York. Updated 2026.