Best Places44281, OH Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 44281, 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.
44281 ranks 2,122nd of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on good schools by a wide margin, and childcare costs are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 44281
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.
44281's strengths and weaknesses
Where 44281 ranks high
- School gradeA+, better than 98% of zip codes
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 97% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than 90% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than 85% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than 85% of zip codes
Where 44281 ranks low
- Cheap childcare$1,273 a month, better than only 17% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than only 28% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than only 29% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than only 35% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 35% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 44281
A household needs to earn about $79,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 44281 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $95,588, 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 44281's effective rate of 1.13%, 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 44281
44281'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 44281.
Who works in 44281, and how
Work in 44281 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 82%
- Work from home 16%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in 44281
44281 has more parkland per resident than 74% of zip codes. That concentrates in some parts of 44281 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 44281, month by month
44281 sees roughly 89 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 88 degrees. January highs sit near 39, with lows near 22. The comfortable stretch runs May, June, and August through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 39° | 30° | 22° |
| April | 65° | 52° | 40° |
| July | 88° | 76° | 64° |
| October | 69° | 57° | 46° |
Flying in and out of 44281
The nearest airport, Akron-Canton Regional, is about 17 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Cleveland-Hopkins International, about 26 miles away.
The best schools in and around 44281
Schools across 44281 average an A+, better than 98% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Granger Elementary SchoolA+ · 88% proficient
- Sharon Elementary SchoolA+ · 86% proficient
- Franklin Elementary SchoolA+ · 83% proficient
Top middle schools
- Highland Middle SchoolA+ · 78% proficient
- Central Intermediate SchoolA+ · 77% proficient
- A. I. Root Middle SchoolA+ · 76% proficient
Top high schools
- Highland High SchoolA+ · 83% proficient
- Wadsworth High SchoolA · 79% proficient
- Medina High SchoolA · 71% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 44281 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
44281 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 44281 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 44281 suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 84% of zip codes, internet is fast and widely advertised, and 16% already work from home.
Common questions about living in 44281
Is 44281 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 44281 ranks 2,122nd of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on good schools, cheap car insurance, and civic engagement, and lowest on childcare costs and property taxes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 44281 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $289,740. The overall cost of living runs about 12% below the national average. Set against a $95,588 median income, cost of living beats 84% of zip codes.
Is 44281 safe?
Yes, 44281 is safer than 85% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $188 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 44281?
July highs average about 88 degrees, and January highs near 39 with lows near 22. That works out to about 89 pleasant days a year, more than 54% of zip codes.
Is 44281 good for families?
Schools beat 98% of zip codes, crime safety beats 85%, and childcare runs $1,273 a month.
Compare 44281 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 44281. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 44281 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.
44281 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 44281: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 44281: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 44281: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 44281: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
44281 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.