Best Places40962, KY Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 40962, 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.
40962 ranks 31,642nd of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on affordable childcare by a wide margin, and thin health care access ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 40962
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.
40962's strengths and weaknesses
Where 40962 ranks high
- Cheap childcare$487 a month, better than 95% of zip codes
- Tree shadeBetter than 86% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than 82% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than 72% of zip codes
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 67% of zip codes
Where 40962 ranks low
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 3% of zip codes
- Health outlookBetter than only 7% of zip codes
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 8% of zip codes
- Household income$47,382 median, better than only 8% of zip codes
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 11% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 40962
A household needs to earn about $29,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 40962 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $47,382, 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 40962's effective rate of 0.50%, 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 4 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 40962
40962's age mix sits close to the national median.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 40962.
Who works in 40962, and how
Work in 40962 centers on health care & social and retail trade. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 84%
- Work from home 13%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in 40962
40962 has fewer places to eat and drink per resident than most zip codes. That concentrates in some parts of 40962 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 40962, month by month
40962 sees roughly 64 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 88 degrees. January highs sit near 47, with lows near 26. The comfortable stretch runs April through June and August through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 47° | 36° | 26° |
| April | 72° | 57° | 43° |
| July | 88° | 76° | 67° |
| October | 74° | 59° | 46° |
Flying in and out of 40962
The nearest airport, Blue Grass, is about 76 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International, about 139 miles away.
The best schools in and around 40962
Schools across 40962 average a D+, better than 14% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Johnson Elementary SchoolB+ · 53% proficient
- Manchester Elementary SchoolC+ · 35% proficient
- Stinnett Elementary SchoolC · 35% proficient
Top middle schools
- North Laurel Middle SchoolB+ · 47% proficient
- Knox County Middle SchoolD+ · 25% proficient
- Clay County Middle SchoolD+ · 24% proficient
Top high schools
- North Laurel High SchoolC · 33% proficient
- Leslie County High SchoolD+ · 25% proficient
- Clay County High SchoolD · 20% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 40962 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
40962 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 40962 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 40962
Is 40962 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 40962 ranks 31,642nd of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on affordable childcare, tree cover, and low property taxes, and lowest on thin health care access and health outcomes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 40962 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $114,561. The overall cost of living runs about 24% below the national average. Set against a $47,382 median income, cost of living beats 14% of zip codes.
Is 40962 safe?
40962 is safer than 27% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $381 per resident a year.
Compare 40962 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 40962. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 40962 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.
40962 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 40962: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 40962: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 40962: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 40962: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
40962 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.