Rockville Centre tops New York’s safest and richest suburbs; Scarsdale leads in income but not overall rank

A national study by GOBankingRates ranked New York’s suburbs by a composite score that blends crime, livability and income. Rockville Centre on Long Island was named New York’s safest and richest suburb, while Scarsdale in Westchester County boasted the highest mean annual household income but placed fifth overall in the edition analyzing locales where high incomes meet low crime rates and strong livability.

Rockville Centre earned the top composite score in the ranking, illustrating a balance of low crime, high livability and substantial earnings. Its violent crime rate was 0.2356 per 1,000 residents, and its property crime rate stood at 4.7111 per 1,000. The suburb’s livability score was 86 out of a possible 100, and the mean annual household income was $202,529. The annual cost of living for necessities was $101,463. The data set drew from U.S. Census Bureau figures, FBI crime statistics and AreaVibes’ livability index, then combined them into the submarket rankings.

Rounding out the top four were Lynbrook (second), Long Beach (third) and Garden City (fourth), all in Nassau County. Scarsdale ranked fifth, its income far above the rest of the New York list at $601,193 per year, but a livability score of 69 and a crime profile that included a violent crime rate of 0.0568 per 1,000 and a property crime rate of 3.4087 per 1,000 pulled it down relative to Rockville Centre’s balance of high income, low crime and high livability.

Westchester’s share of the top 20 was notable, with 11 suburbs from the county making the list, compared with Nassau County’s nine. The ranking highlights the ongoing distinction between where high household incomes cluster and where residents enjoy lower crime and greater livability. In the broader top 20, other familiar Nassau and Westchester towns appear, including Floral Park, Eastchester, Freeport, Tarrytown, Port Washington, Harrison, Mamaroneck, Rye, Peekskill, Port Chester, Glen Cove, New Rochelle, Hempstead, White Plains and Yonkers.

The methodology combined data from the U.S. Census Bureau, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and AreaVibes’ livability index to produce a holistic view of where affluence, safety and quality of life converge. The study’s aim is to illuminate the trade-offs buyers and investors consider when evaluating suburban markets around New York City, rather than to make prescriptive judgments about any one community.

Rockville Centre’s top ranking underscores a broader market trend in which certain Nassau County suburbs command high incomes while maintaining relatively low crime and solid livability. Yet Scarsdale’s example also shows that extraordinary earnings do not guarantee the highest overall score when other factors—such as livability and cost of living—are weighed in the ranking.

This snapshot comes as families, employers and real estate investors weigh suburban options in the New York metropolitan area, where prices, school quality and accessibility to city jobs all influence decisions. While Nassau and Westchester suburbs frequently draw high demand, the study indicates that the strongest overall packages hinge on multiple factors—crime rates, cost of living, and the perceived livability of daily life—in addition to income.

At the end of the day, the newest ranking reinforces that a high income is meaningful, but it is not the sole predictor of a suburb’s overall appeal. The market continues to reward communities that offer a balanced combination of safety, affordability and a high quality of life, even as many residents remain drawn to the promise of higher earnings in places like Scarsdale. The implications for buyers and investors are clear: a holistic view of crime, livability and cost of living matters as much as, if not more than, headline income figures when evaluating where to live or deploy capital in the New York suburban market.