Best Places43526, OH Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 43526, 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.
43526 ranks 6,084th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on cheap car insurance by a wide margin, and childcare costs are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 43526
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.
43526's strengths and weaknesses
Where 43526 ranks high
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 99% of zip codes
- School gradeA, better than 94% of zip codes
- Internet speedBetter than 91% of zip codes
- Low vacancyBetter than 90% of zip codes
- Heat safetyBetter than 86% of zip codes
Where 43526 ranks low
- Cheap childcare$1,266 a month, better than only 18% of zip codes
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 26% of zip codes
- Tree shadeBetter than only 28% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than only 35% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than only 35% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 43526
A household needs to earn about $47,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 43526 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $76,841, 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 43526's effective rate of 0.97%, 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 43526
43526 runs younger than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 43526.
Who works in 43526, and how
Work in 43526 centers on manufacturing and retail trade. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 88%
- Work from home 9%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in 43526
43526 has more parkland per resident than 97% of zip codes. That concentrates in some parts of 43526 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 43526, month by month
43526 sees roughly 78 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 84 degrees. January highs sit near 34, with lows near 22. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 34° | 28° | 22° |
| April | 59° | 48° | 39° |
| July | 84° | 73° | 64° |
| October | 64° | 53° | 45° |
Flying in and out of 43526
The nearest airport, Fort Wayne International, is about 32 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Detroit Metro Wayne County, about 96 miles away.
The best schools in and around 43526
Schools across 43526 average an A, better than 94% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Hicksville Elementary SchoolA+ · 76% proficient
- Antwerp Local Elementary SchoolA · 72% proficient
- Edgerton Elementary SchoolA · 67% proficient
Top middle schools
- Fairview Middle SchoolA+ · 70% proficient
- Antwerp Local Middle SchoolA+ · 68% proficient
Top high schools
- Hicksville High SchoolA+ · 81% proficient
- Fairview High SchoolA− · 63% proficient
- Antwerp Local High SchoolA− · 62% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 43526 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
43526 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 43526 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 43526
Is 43526 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 43526 ranks 6,084th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on cheap car insurance, good schools, and fast internet, and lowest on childcare costs and education levels. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 43526 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $176,044. The overall cost of living runs about 13% below the national average. Set against a $76,841 median income, cost of living beats 55% of zip codes.
Is 43526 safe?
Yes, 43526 is safer than 79% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $211 per resident a year.
Compare 43526 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 43526. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 43526 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.
43526 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 43526: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 43526: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 43526: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 43526: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
43526 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.