Best Places42022, KY Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 42022, 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.
42022 ranks 15,975th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on what local pay buys by a wide margin, and tree cover ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 42022
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.
42022's strengths and weaknesses
Where 42022 ranks high
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 96% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 96% of zip codes
- Household income$115,905 median, better than 88% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$591 a month, better than 85% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than 83% of zip codes
Where 42022 ranks low
- Tree shadeBetter than only 6% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 60 pleasant days a year, better than only 8% of zip codes
- Low vacancyBetter than only 8% of zip codes
- Health outlookBetter than only 11% of zip codes
- Short commute34.5 minutes each way, better than only 12% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 42022
A household needs to earn about $34,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 42022 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $115,905, 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 42022's effective rate of 0.69%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Who lives in 42022
42022 runs younger than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 42022.
Who works in 42022, and how
Work in 42022 centers on health care & social and transportation & warehousing. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 95%
- Work from home 2%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in 42022
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 42022.
What the weather is like in 42022, month by month
42022 sees roughly 60 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 89 degrees. January highs sit near 45, with lows near 28. The comfortable stretch runs April through June, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 45° | 36° | 28° |
| April | 71° | 58° | 48° |
| July | 89° | 78° | 70° |
| October | 73° | 60° | 49° |
Flying in and out of 42022
The nearest airport, Barkley Regional, is about 11 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is St Louis Lambert International, about 135 miles away.
The best schools in and around 42022
Schools across 42022 average a C−, better than 25% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Ballard County Elementary SchoolC · 33% proficient
Top middle schools
- Ballard County Middle SchoolD+ · 26% proficient
Top high schools
- Ballard Memorial High SchoolC− · 28% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 42022 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
42022 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 42022 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 42022
Is 42022 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 42022 ranks 15,975th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on what local pay buys, a stable housing market, and high incomes, and lowest on tree cover and the weather. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 42022 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $132,100. The overall cost of living runs about 21% below the national average. Set against a $115,905 median income, cost of living beats 96% of zip codes.
Is 42022 safe?
42022 is safer than 49% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $283 per resident a year.
Compare 42022 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 42022. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 42022 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.
42022 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 42022: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 42022: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 42022: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 42022: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
42022 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.