Housing & affordability
18% of the score · 50/100
D+
Median home value$424,900
New York $614,200
Median rent$2,056/mo
New York $1,830/mo
Cost-burdened households34%
New York 42%
Shirley
Suffolk County28,375 residents3 school districts
45
D
Suburbgrade score
49th of 60 New York suburbs. Strongest on cost of living, held back by commute & transport.
45
New York median 52
0 · F
A+ · 100
Launch-day rule. Residents is not counted for Shirley yet: no poll responses so far. The overall score of 45 is computed on the other six categories, re-normalised to 100%. Answer the poll →
What living here is actually like
Written summary in preparation This page is waiting for its written summary, and for a person to check it. Until then it is excluded from search engines.
What Shirley is like to live in, by category
Bars show Shirley against New York. Weights are published in full.Schools
18% of the score · 47/100
D
Within-state proficiency28th pct
New York median 35th pct
Student–teacher ratio13.0
New York median 11.6
Graduation rate84%
New York median 88%
Cost of living
14% of the score · 54/100
C−
Housing cost index85
New York 100
Eff. tax rate1.94%
New York 1.37%
Local sales tax8.54%
New York median 8.54%
Commute & transport
14% of the score · 26/100
F
Mean commute33.2 min
New York 35.6 min
Under 30 minutes48%
New York 44%
Transit stops / sq mi0.1
New York median 2.5 · within 2 miles
Amenities
12% of the score · 41/100
D−
Restaurants & cafés15
New York median 59 · within 2 miles
Groceries3
New York median 8 · within 2 miles
Parks17
New York median 61 · within 2 miles
Employment & income
12% of the score · 47/100
D
Median household income$112,788
New York $99,155
Unemployment6.4%
New York 6.8%
Professional occupations36%
New York 48%
Residents
12% of the score · inactive
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No responses yet. Residents is excluded from the score until eight people answer.
Ask the people who live here
Twelve yes/no questions, one tap each. No dataset knows whether the yards are kept or whether anyone talks to their neighbours. Answers feed the Residents grade, which needs eight responses before it counts.
Nobody has answered for Shirley yet. If you live here, you can be the first.
Is it quiet at night?
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Do you feel safe walking after dark?
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Can you walk to a grocery store?
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Is it good for young children?
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Are yards and streets well kept?
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Tap either button to answer — no account neededAll twelve questions →
Better than Shirley on commute & transport
Shirley's weakest grade is F. Five suburbs are within 25 miles and score higher on the same four inputs.
SuburbCommuteOverall
Bay Shore20 mi from ShirleyD+ 52 D+ Central Islip17 mi from ShirleyD 48 D+ Commack22 mi from ShirleyD− 62 C Centereach12 mi from ShirleyF 55 C− Coram9 mi from ShirleyF 44 D Mean commute: ACS 2020–24 · Commuting under 30 minutes: ACS 2020–24
Common questions about living in Shirley
Is Shirley, NY a good place to live?
Shirley scores 45 out of 100, 49th of 60 New York suburbs. It is strongest on cost of living and weakest on commute & transport. Every weight behind that score is published on the methodology page.
Is Shirley expensive to live in?
Cost of living grades C−. The median home is $424,900, 31% below the New York median, and the effective property tax rate is 1.94%. $2,056/mo is the median gross rent.
How good are the schools in Shirley?
Schools grade D. The districts serving Shirley sit at the 28th pct within-state proficiency percentile, with a 84% graduation rate and a 13.0 student–teacher ratio. Shirley is served by William Floyd Union Free School District, Longwood Central School District and South Country Central School District. Proficiency is only ever compared inside the same state.
How long is the commute from Shirley?
The mean commute is 33.2 min, with 48% of workers travelling under 30 minutes and 6.5% working from home. Transit density is 0.1 stops per square mile.
Can you walk anywhere in Shirley?
Within two miles there are 3 groceries, 15 restaurants and cafés and 17 parks, which grades D− on amenities.
Are the homes in Shirley old or new?
The median home in Shirley was built in 1975 — newer than the New York median of 1960. That is a median, so a town can be half post-war and half new-build and still land there. 96% of homes are houses rather than flats.
Every answer is built from the figures on this page, with their sources and as-of dates on the methodology page.