Best Places3rd Ward, Portsmouth, OH Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around 3rd Ward, Portsmouth, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Several measures below read low, and the ranked lists name which ones. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
3rd Ward, Portsmouth ranks 4,893rd of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on cheap car insurance by a wide margin, and health outcomes rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 3rd Ward, Portsmouth
BestNeighborhood is the only ranking that scores 40 measures of daily life neighborhood by neighborhood and lets you re-weight every one of them yourself.
3rd Ward, Portsmouth's strengths and weaknesses
Where 3rd Ward, Portsmouth ranks high
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 97% of neighborhoods
- Cheap childcare$764 a month, better than 92% of neighborhoods
- Cell coverageBetter than 90% of neighborhoods
- Short commute18.5 minutes each way, better than 87% of neighborhoods
- Disaster safetyBetter than 81% of neighborhoods
Where 3rd Ward, Portsmouth ranks low
- Health outlookBetter than only 2% of neighborhoods
- Nice weatherabout 58 pleasant days a year, better than only 5% of neighborhoods
- TransitBetter than only 5% of neighborhoods
- BikingBetter than only 6% of neighborhoods
- Low vacancyBetter than only 8% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in 3rd Ward, Portsmouth
A household needs to earn about $44,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 3rd Ward, Portsmouth home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $47,313, so a typical household can afford the median home outright.
Where the monthly payment goes
Assumes a 20% down payment, a 6.6% 30-year fixed rate, and a 28% share of income going to the payment. The rate is the 2026-07-23 30-year fixed average, series MORTGAGE30US from the St. Louis Fed, which publishes Freddie Mac's weekly survey. Against the median home value, property tax uses 3rd Ward, Portsmouth's effective rate of 1.29%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices, buying tends to cost more than renting for about the first 8 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 3rd Ward, Portsmouth
3rd Ward, Portsmouth runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 3rd Ward, Portsmouth.
Who works in 3rd Ward, Portsmouth, and how
Work in 3rd Ward, Portsmouth centers on health care & social and hospitality & food. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 89%
- Work from home 6%
- Transit, walk, or bike 5%
Life in 3rd Ward, Portsmouth
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 3rd Ward, Portsmouth.
What the weather is like in 3rd Ward, Portsmouth, month by month
3rd Ward, Portsmouth sees roughly 58 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 89 degrees. January highs sit near 46, with lows near 25. The comfortable stretch runs April through June and August through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 46° | 34° | 25° |
| April | 70° | 55° | 42° |
| July | 89° | 76° | 67° |
| October | 73° | 58° | 47° |
Flying in and out of 3rd Ward, Portsmouth
The nearest airport, Tri-State/Milton J Ferguson Field, is about 35 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is John Glenn Columbus International, about 86 miles away.
The best schools in and around 3rd Ward, Portsmouth
Schools across 3rd Ward, Portsmouth average a C−, better than 26% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Portsmouth ElementaryC− · 28% proficient
Top high schools
- Portsmouth Junior High School/portsmouth High SchoolD+ · 25% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 3rd Ward, Portsmouth school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
3rd Ward, Portsmouth measure by measure
Cards are ordered by how much each measure matters to you, so the ones you weighted highest come first. Expand to see every measure. Percentages compare 3rd Ward, Portsmouth against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in 3rd Ward, Portsmouth
Is 3rd Ward, Portsmouth a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 3rd Ward, Portsmouth ranks 4,893rd of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on cheap car insurance, affordable childcare, and cell coverage, and lowest on health outcomes and the weather. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 3rd Ward, Portsmouth expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $157,136. The overall cost of living runs about 25% below the national average. Set against a $47,313 median income, cost of living beats 34% of neighborhoods.
Is 3rd Ward, Portsmouth safe?
3rd Ward, Portsmouth is safer than 44% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $459 per resident a year.
Compare 3rd Ward, Portsmouth with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 3rd Ward, Portsmouth. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 3rd Ward, Portsmouth represents the same real quantity as a 60 anywhere else, and the ranking is a weighted average of those absolutes. The map colors come from a national scale calibrated against a population weighted random sample of 5,000 neighborhoods. That absolute scoring is what no other places-to-live ranking does: it puts a single neighborhood, a town, a metro, and a state on one scale, so the same 40 measures answer both which metro to move to and which street inside it to buy on. Read the full methodology.
3rd Ward, Portsmouth detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 3rd Ward, Portsmouth: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 3rd Ward, Portsmouth: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 3rd Ward, Portsmouth: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 3rd Ward, Portsmouth: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
3rd Ward, Portsmouth detail on related sites:
- CrimeGrade: neighborhood crime rates behind the crime safety score.
- ISPreports.org: provider by provider internet availability and advertised speeds.
- CoverageWatch: the car insurance premiums behind the cheap car insurance score.
Federal and public data:
- U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey: income, home value, rent, vacancy, commute time and mode, educational attainment, home age, age structure, household type, industry, and race.
- NOAA Global Surface Summary of the Day: the daily station record behind the monthly temperatures and the pleasant-day count.
- FAA Passenger Boarding Data: airport size and annual passenger counts.
- Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey: the 30-year fixed rate used in the cost-to-buy estimate.
- FBI Crime Data Explorer: reported offenses behind the tangible crime cost estimate.
- U.S. EPA Air Quality System: five year average air quality index.
- FEMA National Risk Index: expected annual loss from natural hazards.
- CDC PLACES: disease burden, preventable risk, and barriers to care.
- National Center for Education Statistics: school enrollment and assessment inputs behind the school grade.
- FCC National Broadband Map: internet and wireless availability.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: employment and job growth behind the local economy score.
- Religious activity uses a proprietary religious signal measurement.
Your priorities
Move a slider to say how much a measure matters. Zero turns it off.