Best Places42056, KY Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 42056, 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.
42056 ranks 20,989th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. The weather pulls hardest against it, while it scores best on affordable childcare.
The best neighborhoods in 42056
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.
42056's strengths and weaknesses
Where 42056 ranks high
- Cheap childcare$591 a month, better than 85% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than 83% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 81% of zip codes
- Local economyBetter than 78% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than 68% of zip codes
Where 42056 ranks low
- Nice weatherabout 61 pleasant days a year, better than only 9% of zip codes
- Health outlookBetter than only 11% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 13% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than only 16% of zip codes
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 17% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 42056
A household needs to earn about $35,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 42056 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $67,450, 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 42056's effective rate of 0.69%, 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 42056
42056 runs older than the country, and households here run smaller than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 42056.
Who works in 42056, and how
Work in 42056 centers on health care & social and manufacturing. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 91%
- Work from home 3%
- Transit, walk, or bike 6%
Life in 42056
42056 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 99% of zip codes. That concentrates in some parts of 42056 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 42056, month by month
42056 sees roughly 61 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 91 degrees. January highs sit near 48, with lows near 28. The comfortable stretch runs April, May, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 48° | 37° | 28° |
| April | 73° | 59° | 46° |
| July | 91° | 80° | 70° |
| October | 77° | 61° | 48° |
Flying in and out of 42056
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 139 miles away.
The best schools in and around 42056
Schools across 42056 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 42056 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
42056 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 42056 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 42056
Is 42056 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 42056 ranks 20,989th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on affordable childcare, walkability, and a stable housing market, and lowest on the weather and health outcomes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 42056 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $136,947. The overall cost of living runs about 22% below the national average. Set against a $67,450 median income, cost of living beats 59% of zip codes.
Is 42056 safe?
Yes, 42056 is safer than 55% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $266 per resident a year.
Compare 42056 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 42056. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 42056 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.
42056 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 42056: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 42056: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 42056: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 42056: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
42056 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.