Best Places44021, OH Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 44021, 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.
44021 ranks 7,706th 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 44021
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.
44021's strengths and weaknesses
Where 44021 ranks high
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 95% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than 92% of zip codes
- Heat safetyBetter than 92% of zip codes
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 82% of zip codes
- Tree shadeBetter than 81% of zip codes
Where 44021 ranks low
- Cheap childcare$1,273 a month, better than only 17% of zip codes
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 21% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than only 25% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than only 32% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than only 35% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 44021
A household needs to earn about $69,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 44021 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $92,751, 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 44021's effective rate of 1.05%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices and rents, renting stays cheaper than buying across the first 10 years here, so the case for buying rests on staying much longer or on prices rising faster than assumed. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 44021
44021's age mix sits close to the national median, 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 44021.
Who works in 44021, and how
Work in 44021 centers on construction and manufacturing. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 83%
- Work from home 11%
- Transit, walk, or bike 6%
Life in 44021
44021 has more parkland per resident than 98% of zip codes. That concentrates in some parts of 44021 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 44021, month by month
44021 sees roughly 87 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 83 degrees. January highs sit near 35, with lows near 22. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 35° | 28° | 22° |
| April | 60° | 48° | 39° |
| July | 83° | 72° | 63° |
| October | 64° | 53° | 45° |
Flying in and out of 44021
Cleveland-Hopkins International sits about 37 miles away. It is a medium hub and boarded 4.9 million passengers in 2025, with 72 nonstop destinations.
The best schools in and around 44021
Schools across 44021 average a B+, better than 78% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Timmons Elementary SchoolA+ · 83% proficient
- Munson Elementary SchoolA+ · 78% proficient
- James A Garfield Elementary SchoolA · 66% proficient
Top middle schools
- Chardon Middle SchoolA+ · 85% proficient
- Berkshire Middle SchoolA · 64% proficient
- Cardinal Middle SchoolA− · 55% proficient
Top high schools
- Chardon High SchoolA · 73% proficient
- James A Garfield High SchoolB+ · 58% proficient
- Berkshire High SchoolB+ · 55% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 44021 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
44021 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 44021 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 44021
Is 44021 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 44021 ranks 7,706th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on cheap car insurance, low disaster risk, and heat safety, 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 44021 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $255,167. The overall cost of living runs about 13% below the national average. Set against a $92,751 median income, cost of living beats 82% of zip codes.
Is 44021 safe?
Yes, 44021 is safer than 59% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $256 per resident a year.
Compare 44021 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 44021. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 44021 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.
44021 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 44021: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 44021: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 44021: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 44021: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
44021 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.