Best Places40178, KY Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 40178, 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.
40178 ranks 30,670th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. Walkability pulls hardest against it, while it scores best on quiet.
The best neighborhoods in 40178
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.
40178's strengths and weaknesses
Where 40178 ranks high
- QuietBetter than 80% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than 69% of zip codes
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 67% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$750 a month, better than 67% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than 61% of zip codes
Where 40178 ranks low
- WalkabilityBetter than only 5% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 59 pleasant days a year, better than only 6% of zip codes
- Low vacancyBetter than only 8% of zip codes
- Health outlookBetter than only 8% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than only 12% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 40178
A household needs to earn about $51,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 40178 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $52,156, 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 40178's effective rate of 0.62%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Who lives in 40178
40178's age mix sits close to the national median, and households here run larger than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 40178.
Who works in 40178, and how
Work in 40178 centers on retail trade and education. Unemployment is low, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 95%
- Work from home 3%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in 40178
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 40178.
What the weather is like in 40178, month by month
40178 sees roughly 59 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 87 degrees. January highs sit near 43, with lows near 27. The comfortable stretch runs April through June and August through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 43° | 34° | 27° |
| April | 68° | 56° | 45° |
| July | 87° | 77° | 68° |
| October | 70° | 58° | 48° |
Flying in and out of 40178
The nearest airport, Owensboro/Daviess County Regional, is about 42 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Nashville International, about 108 miles away.
The best schools in and around 40178
Schools across 40178 average a C−, better than 26% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Hardinsburg Elementary SchoolC+ · 38% proficient
- Custer Elementary SchoolC− · 29% proficient
- Ben Johnson Elementary SchoolD · 20% proficient
Top middle schools
- Breckinridge County Middle SchoolC+ · 37% proficient
Top high schools
- Breckinridge County High SchoolC− · 29% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 40178 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
40178 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 40178 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 40178
Is 40178 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 40178 ranks 30,670th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on quiet, low property taxes, and low taxes, and lowest on walkability and the weather. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 40178 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $199,636. The overall cost of living runs about 13% below the national average. Set against a $52,156 median income, cost of living beats 18% of zip codes.
Is 40178 safe?
40178 is safer than 45% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $296 per resident a year.
Compare 40178 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 40178. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 40178 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.
40178 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 40178: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 40178: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 40178: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 40178: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
40178 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.