Gold Coast Long Island towns ranked best in US to raise kids

Gold Coast Long Island towns ranked best in US to raise kids

It’s a big score for the north shore.

Nearly a dozen affluent Nassau County enclaves on the Gold Coast, or just a few miles south, made a newly released list of the best places in the US to raise a family.

Kensington, a neighborhood on Manhasset Bay near the Queens border, placed second in the nation out of 18,084 towns in Niche’s 2025 rankings.

The area of Kensington in Nassau County was voted one of the nation’s best places to raise a family. Google St View

The small but elite section of Great Neck — it has a population under 1,500 — trailed only the Philadelphia suburb of Chesterbrook and earned top marks for its overall safety and high-performing public schools.

Homes in the sweet Long Island suburb command top dollar with a median value of $1.4 million. The area’s earning power is also impressive — it has a median household income of $217,679 — and 41% of residents have a master’s degree or higher, according to the outlet.

Syosset was next locally landing No. 11 on the list, followed by neighboring Jericho at 21, East Williston at 30, and Manhasset — the high-end home to the “Miracle Mile” Americana shopping district — at 39.

Manhasset, home to the posh Americana shopping district, made on the elite list. Americana Manhasset / Facebook
Jericho, home to the locally beloved Milleridge Inn restaurant and shops (pictured), was also in the ranking. Google St View

A handful of elite Nassau locales also rounded out the bottom half of the top 100. The scenic, farm- and garden-filled Muttontown landed at No. 51 while Plainview came in at 68, Roslyn Heights 73, Garden City 75, Lake Success 94 and Searingtown 99.

The posh Dix Hills — the only Suffolk County suburb to make the cut — which was recently rocked by the chilling murder of a police detective, earned a ranking of 135.

Extremely affluent Upper Brookville, just a stone’s throw from Muttontown, shockingly finished 1,575.

The south shore was snubbed as its popular communities didn’t scratch the top 100. Ritzy Merrick was only 512, and Wantagh — the “gateway to Jones Beach” and Long Island’s beautiful Atlantic Ocean — scored 982.

Several north shore towns were listed as the best places in the US to raise a family. JenkoAtaman – stock.adobe.com
Garden City is listed as a great place in the nation to raise kids. Aurora East Media – stock.adobe.com

Perhaps recent Rex Heuermann notoriety catapulted Massapequa — where President Trump patronized staple burger joint “All American” — down to a measly 3,087 ranking, while nearby Farmingdale came in 2,407.

Outside of Long Island, Westchester’s Scarsdale and Ardsley finished 13 and 14, respectively.

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