Best Places44217, OH Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 44217, 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.
44217 ranks 8,929th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on cheap car insurance by a wide margin, and noise is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 44217
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.
44217's strengths and weaknesses
Where 44217 ranks high
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 99% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than 98% of zip codes
- School gradeA, better than 94% of zip codes
- Heat safetyBetter than 82% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than 79% of zip codes
Where 44217 ranks low
- QuietBetter than only 20% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than only 27% of zip codes
- Local economyBetter than only 28% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 73 pleasant days a year, better than only 31% of zip codes
- Health outlookBetter than only 32% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 44217
A household needs to earn about $53,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 44217 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $71,451, 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 44217's effective rate of 0.98%, 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 9 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 44217
44217'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 44217.
Who works in 44217, and how
Work in 44217 centers on manufacturing and health care & social. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 86%
- Work from home 10%
- Transit, walk, or bike 5%
Life in 44217
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 44217.
What the weather is like in 44217, month by month
44217 sees roughly 73 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 85 degrees. January highs sit near 37, with lows near 19. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 37° | 28° | 19° |
| April | 63° | 49° | 37° |
| July | 85° | 73° | 61° |
| October | 67° | 54° | 43° |
Flying in and out of 44217
The nearest airport, Akron-Canton Regional, is about 24 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Cleveland-Hopkins International, about 31 miles away.
The best schools in and around 44217
Schools across 44217 average an A, better than 94% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Norwayne Elementary SchoolA+ · 77% proficient
- Green Elementary SchoolA · 66% proficient
- Cloverleaf Elementary SchoolA · 66% proficient
Top middle schools
- Norwayne Middle SchoolA+ · 77% proficient
- Green Middle SchoolA+ · 68% proficient
- Cloverleaf Middle SchoolA · 64% proficient
Top high schools
- Smithville High SchoolA · 72% proficient
- Cloverleaf High SchoolA− · 62% proficient
- Norwayne High SchoolA− · 60% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 44217 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
44217 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 44217 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 44217
Is 44217 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 44217 ranks 8,929th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on cheap car insurance, low crime, and good schools, and lowest on noise and air quality. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 44217 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $198,097. The overall cost of living runs about 11% below the national average. Set against a $71,451 median income, cost of living beats 45% of zip codes.
Is 44217 safe?
Yes, 44217 is safer than 98% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $130 per resident a year.
Compare 44217 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 44217. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 44217 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.
44217 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 44217: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 44217: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 44217: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 44217: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
44217 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.