A study from K12 puts a number on that decision, and for New York, the number is steep. New York Has the Second-Highest School District Housing Gap in the CountryThe study compared home values against school achievement data across all 50 states to measure how much more families pay to live near the highest-rated public schools. Homes near the state's top-rated schools cost about 2.62 times as much as homes near the lowest-rated ones, a difference of roughly $450,088. Taking on a higher mortgage or rent was the most common sacrifice, reported by 46 percent of families who moved. Those two numbers sitting side by side describe something most New York parents already sense without needing a study to confirm it.