Best Places44121, OH Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 44121, 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.
44121 ranks 12,739th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on low disaster risk by a wide margin, and property taxes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 44121
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.
44121's strengths and weaknesses
Where 44121 ranks high
- Disaster safetyBetter than 96% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than 94% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than 89% of zip codes
- Internet speedBetter than 86% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than 85% of zip codes
Where 44121 ranks low
- Low property taxBetter than only 1% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than only 9% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$1,273 a month, better than only 17% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than only 24% of zip codes
- School gradeC, better than only 29% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 44121
A household needs to earn about $46,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 44121 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $78,940, 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 44121's effective rate of 2.38%, 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 4 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 44121
44121'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 44121.
Who works in 44121, and how
Work in 44121 centers on health care & social and retail trade. Unemployment is low, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 77%
- Work from home 16%
- Transit, walk, or bike 7%
Life in 44121
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 44121.
What the weather is like in 44121, month by month
44121 sees roughly 91 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 82 degrees. January highs sit near 36, with lows near 24. The comfortable stretch runs May through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 36° | 30° | 24° |
| April | 59° | 50° | 41° |
| July | 82° | 75° | 66° |
| October | 64° | 57° | 49° |
Flying in and out of 44121
Cleveland-Hopkins International sits about 18 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 44121
Schools across 44121 average a C, better than 29% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Adrian Elementary SchoolC · 35% proficient
- Gearity Professional Development SchoolC− · 28% proficient
- Rowland Elementary SchoolC− · 28% proficient
Top middle schools
- Greenview Upper Elementary SchoolC · 35% proficient
- Memorial Junior High SchoolC · 35% proficient
- Monticello Middle SchoolD+ · 26% proficient
Top high schools
- Beachwood High SchoolA · 75% proficient
- Brush High SchoolB− · 41% proficient
- Cleveland Heights High SchoolC+ · 37% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 44121 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
44121 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 44121 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 44121 suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 73% of zip codes, internet is fast and widely advertised, and 16% already work from home.
Retirees
The weather beats 56% of zip codes and health care access beats 58%.
Common questions about living in 44121
Is 44121 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 44121 ranks 12,739th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on low disaster risk, transit, and biking, and lowest on property taxes and crime. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 44121 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $145,902. The overall cost of living runs about 18% below the national average. Set against a $78,940 median income, cost of living beats 73% of zip codes.
Is 44121 safe?
44121 is safer than 9% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $578 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 44121?
July highs average about 82 degrees, and January highs near 36 with lows near 24. That works out to about 91 pleasant days a year, more than 56% of zip codes.
Is 44121 good for families?
Schools beat 29% of zip codes, crime safety beats 9%, and childcare runs $1,273 a month.
Compare 44121 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 44121. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 44121 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.
44121 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 44121: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 44121: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 44121: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 44121: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
44121 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.