Best Places42285, KY Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 42285, 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.
42285 ranks 20,707th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. Health outcomes pulls hardest against it, while it scores best on heat safety.
The best neighborhoods in 42285
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.
42285's strengths and weaknesses
Where 42285 ranks high
- Heat safetyBetter than 90% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than 89% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than 87% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than 84% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$660 a month, better than 79% of zip codes
Where 42285 ranks low
- Health outlookBetter than only 5% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 17% of zip codes
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 19% of zip codes
- Household income$61,001 median, better than only 26% of zip codes
- Low vacancyBetter than only 26% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 42285
A household needs to earn about $46,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 42285 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $61,001, 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 42285's effective rate of 0.45%, 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 8 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 42285
42285'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 42285.
Who works in 42285, and how
Work in 42285 centers on retail trade and manufacturing. Unemployment runs well above the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 78%
- Work from home 6%
- Transit, walk, or bike 15%
Life in 42285
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 42285.
What the weather is like in 42285, month by month
42285 sees roughly 105 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 87 degrees. January highs sit near 46, 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 | 46° | 36° | 29° |
| April | 71° | 58° | 48° |
| July | 87° | 77° | 69° |
| October | 72° | 60° | 51° |
Flying in and out of 42285
The nearest airport, Owensboro/Daviess County Regional, is about 58 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Nashville International, about 82 miles away.
The best schools in and around 42285
Schools across 42285 average a C+, better than 44% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Kyrock Elementary SchoolB+ · 52% proficient
Top middle schools
- Edmonson County 5/6 CenterC− · 30% proficient
Top high schools
- Edmonson County High SchoolC− · 28% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 42285 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
42285 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 42285 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 42285
Is 42285 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 42285 ranks 20,707th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on heat safety, low crime, and low property taxes, and lowest on health outcomes and thin health care access. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 42285 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $183,042. The overall cost of living runs about 17% below the national average. Set against a $61,001 median income, cost of living beats 27% of zip codes.
Is 42285 safe?
Yes, 42285 is safer than 89% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $171 per resident a year.
Compare 42285 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 42285. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 42285 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.
42285 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 42285: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 42285: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 42285: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 42285: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
42285 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.