Best New York suburbs for schools

Ranked almost entirely on the Schools category — within-state proficiency, student–teacher ratio, graduation rate and schools nearby — with the two poll questions about children and teenagers at 20% once a place has enough responses.

Updated Sep 2026·60 suburbs considered, 10 listed

Westfield$953k median · 36.7 min commute

Schools A+Cost of living D+Residents inactive

Schools score
overall 70 B−

Harrison$1.01M median · 29.2 min commute

Schools ACost of living FResidents inactive

Schools score
overall 59 C

Nassau University Medical Center photographed from the northwest just before sunset

East Meadow$632k median · 35.0 min commute

Schools ACost of living CResidents inactive

Schools score
overall 65 C+

Fort Lee$448k median · 35.0 min commute

Schools ACost of living CResidents inactive

Schools score
overall 63 C+

Radburn shopping center (Radburn Plaza Building?), near Radburn station, en:Fair Lawn, New Jersey.

Fair Lawn$565k median · 31.3 min commute

Schools ACost of living C+Residents inactive

Schools score
overall 65 C+

Levittown$591k median · 33.5 min commute

Schools ACost of living D+Residents inactive

Schools score
overall 64 C+

Commack$678k median · 33.1 min commute

Schools A−Cost of living DResidents inactive

Schools score
overall 62 C

Oceanside$634k median · 36.3 min commute

Schools A−Cost of living DResidents inactive

Schools score
overall 63 C+

Franklin Square$657k median · 34.6 min commute

Schools A−Cost of living C−Residents inactive

Schools score
overall 63 C+

Elmont Memorial High School Entrance, Elmont, New York

Elmont$603k median · 40.4 min commute

Schools A−Cost of living D−Residents inactive

Schools score
overall 55 C−

This list's weighting

Schools 80%Resident poll (Q5, Q6) 20%

Poll components only count for places with eight or more resident responses; for the others the remaining weights re-normalise to 100%.

Other New York lists

Best New York suburbs for families Most affordable New York suburbs Shortest commutes to Downtown New York Most walkable New York suburbs Best New York suburbs for young professionals How we score New York suburbs →

Photos from Wikimedia Commons: Westfield (Freeholdman12 · CC BY 4.0); Harrison (Copperhead7 · CC BY 3.0); East Meadow (Sean Helling · CC BY-SA 4.0); Fort Lee (RyeCityRoller · CC BY-SA 4.0); Fair Lawn (Rickyrab · CC BY-SA 3.0); Commack (AJW1188 · CC BY-SA 3.0); Oceanside (CaptJayRuffins · CC BY-SA 4.0); Franklin Square (DanTD · CC BY-SA 4.0); Elmont (Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 3.0).