Best Places42153, KY Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 42153, 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.
42153 ranks 27,865th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. Biking pulls hardest against it, while it scores best on quiet.
The best neighborhoods in 42153
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.
42153's strengths and weaknesses
Where 42153 ranks high
- QuietBetter than 83% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$660 a month, better than 79% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than 79% of zip codes
- Tree shadeBetter than 72% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than 72% of zip codes
Where 42153 ranks low
- BikingBetter than only 2% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 55 pleasant days a year, better than only 2% of zip codes
- Health outlookBetter than only 11% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 13% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than only 15% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 42153
A household needs to earn about $41,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 42153 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $54,825, 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 42153's effective rate of 0.53%, 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 6 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 42153
42153 runs older than the country, 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 42153.
Who works in 42153, and how
Work in 42153 centers on health care & social and hospitality & food. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 92%
- Work from home 7%
- Transit, walk, or bike 1%
Life in 42153
42153 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 98% of zip codes. That concentrates in some parts of 42153 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 42153, month by month
42153 sees roughly 55 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 90 degrees. January highs sit near 48, 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 | 48° | 36° | 27° |
| April | 72° | 57° | 44° |
| July | 90° | 77° | 67° |
| October | 74° | 60° | 47° |
Flying in and out of 42153
Nashville International sits about 51 miles away. It is a large hub and boarded 12.6 million passengers in 2025, with 158 nonstop destinations.
The best schools in and around 42153
Schools across 42153 average a D+, better than 16% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Allen County Primary CenterD+ · 23% proficient
Top middle schools
- Allen County Intermediate CenterC− · 29% proficient
Top high schools
- Allen County-scottsville High SchoolD · 23% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 42153 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
42153 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 42153 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 42153
Is 42153 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 42153 ranks 27,865th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on quiet, affordable childcare, and low property taxes, and lowest on biking and the weather. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 42153 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $163,200. The overall cost of living runs about 16% below the national average. Set against a $54,825 median income, cost of living beats 18% of zip codes.
Is 42153 safe?
Yes, 42153 is safer than 72% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $220 per resident a year.
Compare 42153 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 42153. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 42153 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.
42153 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 42153: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 42153: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 42153: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 42153: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
42153 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.