Best Places42420, KY Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 42420, 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.
42420 ranks 23,462nd 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 42420
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.
42420's strengths and weaknesses
Where 42420 ranks high
- Cheap childcare$570 a month, better than 87% of zip codes
- Internet speedBetter than 84% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than 81% of zip codes
- Short commute21.9 minutes each way, better than 76% of zip codes
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 67% of zip codes
Where 42420 ranks low
- Nice weatherabout 50 pleasant days a year, better than only 1% of zip codes
- Health outlookBetter than only 18% of zip codes
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 18% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 22% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than only 25% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 42420
A household needs to earn about $48,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 42420 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $66,330, 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 42420's effective rate of 0.91%, 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 42420
42420's age mix sits close to the national median, 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 42420.
Who works in 42420, and how
Work in 42420 centers on manufacturing and health care & social. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 88%
- Work from home 6%
- Transit, walk, or bike 6%
Life in 42420
42420 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 96% of zip codes and more parkland per resident than 94% of zip codes. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 42420 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 42420, month by month
42420 sees roughly 50 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 89 degrees. January highs sit near 44, 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 | 44° | 34° | 26° |
| April | 70° | 57° | 46° |
| July | 89° | 77° | 68° |
| October | 73° | 60° | 48° |
Flying in and out of 42420
The nearest airport, Evansville Regional, is about 15 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Nashville International, about 128 miles away.
The best schools in and around 42420
Schools across 42420 average a C, better than 35% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Cairo Elementary SchoolB · 50% proficient
- Spottsville Elementary SchoolB · 49% proficient
- Niagara Elementary SchoolB− · 40% proficient
Top middle schools
- Perry Heights Middle SchoolB+ · 48% proficient
- Henderson County South Middle SchoolB− · 42% proficient
- Henderson County North Middle SchoolC · 34% proficient
Top high schools
- New Tech InstituteB · 47% proficient
- Henderson County High SchoolC · 32% proficient
- The Central AcademyF · 5% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 42420 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
42420 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 42420 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 42420 suits
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 6% already work from home.
Retirees
Set weather, quiet, and health care weights on the map to test the fit.
Common questions about living in 42420
Is 42420 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 42420 ranks 23,462nd of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on affordable childcare, fast internet, and walkability, 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 42420 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $182,086. The overall cost of living runs about 17% below the national average. Set against a $66,330 median income, cost of living beats 45% of zip codes.
Is 42420 safe?
42420 is safer than 41% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $323 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 42420?
July highs average about 89 degrees, and January highs near 44 with lows near 26. That works out to about 50 pleasant days a year, more than 1% of zip codes.
Is 42420 good for families?
Schools beat 35% of zip codes, crime safety beats 41%, and childcare runs $570 a month.
Compare 42420 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 42420. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 42420 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.
42420 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 42420: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 42420: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 42420: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 42420: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
42420 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.