Best Places40403, KY Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 40403, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. This page is for people who live here or already know they want to. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
40403 ranks 19,461st of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores best on a strong job market, and the weather ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 40403
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.
40403's strengths and weaknesses
Where 40403 ranks high
- Local economyBetter than 90% of zip codes
- Internet speedBetter than 86% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than 78% of zip codes
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 67% of zip codes
- Tree shadeBetter than 65% of zip codes
Where 40403 ranks low
- Nice weatherabout 66 pleasant days a year, better than only 17% of zip codes
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 18% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 22% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than only 33% of zip codes
- School gradeC, better than only 34% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 40403
A household needs to earn about $53,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 40403 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $67,332, 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 40403's effective rate of 0.71%, 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 9 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 40403
40403 runs younger than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 40403.
Who works in 40403, and how
Work in 40403 centers on manufacturing and education. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 83%
- Work from home 9%
- Transit, walk, or bike 8%
Life in 40403
40403 has more parkland per resident than 73% of zip codes. That concentrates in some parts of 40403 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 40403, month by month
40403 sees roughly 66 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 88 degrees. January highs sit near 44, with lows near 29. The comfortable stretch runs April through June and August through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 44° | 35° | 29° |
| April | 69° | 57° | 47° |
| July | 88° | 77° | 68° |
| October | 71° | 59° | 49° |
Flying in and out of 40403
The nearest airport, Blue Grass, is about 36 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International, about 103 miles away.
The best schools in and around 40403
Schools across 40403 average a C, better than 34% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Roundstone Elementary SchoolB− · 42% proficient
- Shannon Johnson Elementary SchoolB− · 41% proficient
- Kingston Elementary SchoolC− · 30% proficient
Top middle schools
- Farristown Middle SchoolB+ · 48% proficient
- Foley Middle SchoolC · 31% proficient
- Berea Community Middle SchoolC− · 30% proficient
Top high schools
- Madison Southern High SchoolC+ · 37% proficient
- Berea Community High SchoolC · 33% proficient
- Garrard County High SchoolC− · 27% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 40403 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
40403 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 40403 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 40403 suits
Families
Schools land around the 34th percentile and crime safety beats 61%.
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 9% already work from home.
Retirees
Set weather, quiet, and health care weights on the map to test the fit.
Common questions about living in 40403
Is 40403 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 40403 ranks 19,461st of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on a strong job market, fast internet, and low disaster risk, and lowest on the weather and car insurance costs. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 40403 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $204,733. The overall cost of living runs about 16% below the national average. Set against a $67,332 median income, cost of living beats 42% of zip codes.
Is 40403 safe?
Yes, 40403 is safer than 61% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $259 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 40403?
July highs average about 88 degrees, and January highs near 44 with lows near 29. That works out to about 66 pleasant days a year, more than 17% of zip codes.
Is 40403 good for families?
Schools beat 34% of zip codes, crime safety beats 61%, and childcare runs $778 a month.
Compare 40403 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 40403. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 40403 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.
40403 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 40403: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 40403: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 40403: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 40403: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
40403 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.