Great Neck Plaza was ranked as the No. 1 best place to live in New York in 2024 by Niche, a site that grades and rates schools, companies and neighborhoods, with a slew of other North Shore neighborhoods and Long Island communities that made it into the top 50.
Niche’s ranking encompasses its ratings of the communities’ public schools, housing, nightlife, diversity and appeals to families.
Great Neck Plaza was graded an A+ for its public schools and compatibility for families, also receiving an A for nightlife and an A- for diversity. Its lowest grade was a B for housing.
Overall. Great Neck Plaza received an A+ rating.
Great Neck Plaza’s Mayor Ted Rosen said the ranking is an honor for the village.
“We believe that these rankings confirm what we know and what we have known: that the Village of Great Neck Plaza is a great place to live,” Rosen said.
Niche reported that Great Neck Plaza has a population of 7,443, with a median home value of $391,400 and a median rent of $2,263.
The Great Neck area prevailed in the rankings, with the hamlet of Great Neck Gardens and the Village of Kensington securing the third and fourth spots, respectively.
Ranked No. 2 on the list is Hell’s Kitchen, a neighborhood in Manhattan. Excluding places to live in the city, the three Great Neck communities make the top three for suburban communities.
Great Neck Gardens received the same grade breakdown as Great Neck Plaza, but was ranked lower with a B for its diversity.
It has a significantly smaller population than its Plaza neighbor with 1,139 residents. But, the median home price is nearly triple in Great Neck Gardens set at $1,136,600. No median rent was provided by Niche.
Great Neck communities had the highest rankings of any other community on the North Shore, with six rated within the top 50. Only 11 North Shore areas in total were listed in this range.
Other North Shore communities featured in the list’s top 50 best places to live in the state were Syosset at No. 8, East Williston at No. 16, Russell Gardens at No. 22, Jericho at No. 28, Roslyn Heights at No. 44, Lake Success at No. 46, Thomaston at No. 48 and Herricks at No. 49.
On Long Island, 16 areas were named in the top 50 places to live in New York State. All but one were within Nassau County.
Many of the places listed in the top 50 were neighborhoods within New York City, or other suburbs located north of the city.
The list only ranks the top 664 areas throughout the state, with dozens of communities not even making the list. On the North Shore, this included Plandome Manor and Roslyn Harbor, with both receiving an overall A rating by the publication.
Nassau County communities ranked low on the list include Uniondale at No. 556, Freeport at No. 546 and South Floral Park at No. 544.