Best Places45203, OH Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 45203, 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.
45203 ranks 29,781st of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on transit by a wide margin, and noise is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 45203
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.
45203's strengths and weaknesses
Where 45203 ranks high
- TransitBetter than 99% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than 98% of zip codes
- Cell coverageBetter than 89% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than 88% of zip codes
- Low vacancyBetter than 84% of zip codes
Where 45203 ranks low
- QuietBetter than only 1% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than only 2% of zip codes
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 3% of zip codes
- Household income$38,190 median, better than only 3% of zip codes
- School gradeD, better than only 7% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 45203
A household needs to earn about $106,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 45203 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $38,190, so buying stretches a typical household.
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 45203's effective rate of 1.58%, 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 45203
45203 runs younger than the country, 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 45203.
Who works in 45203, and how
Work in 45203 centers on other services and health care & social. Unemployment runs well above the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 58%
- Work from home 8%
- Transit, walk, or bike 33%
Life in 45203
45203 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 88% of zip codes. That concentrates in some parts of 45203 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 45203, month by month
45203 sees roughly 60 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 89 degrees. January highs sit near 44, with lows near 23. The comfortable stretch runs May, June, and August through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 44° | 33° | 23° |
| April | 69° | 54° | 41° |
| July | 89° | 76° | 65° |
| October | 72° | 57° | 45° |
Flying in and out of 45203
Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International sits about 9 miles away. It is a medium hub and boarded 4.4 million passengers in 2025, with 99 nonstop destinations.
The best schools in and around 45203
Schools across 45203 average a D, better than 7% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Academy Of World Languages SchoolD · 18% proficient
- George Hays-jennie Porter SchoolD · 16% proficient
Top high schools
- Virtual High SchoolD · 22% proficient
- Hughes Stem High SchoolD · 21% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 45203 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
45203 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 45203 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 45203
Is 45203 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 45203 ranks 29,781st of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on transit, walkability, and cell coverage, and lowest on noise and crime. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 45203 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $365,929. The overall cost of living runs about 16% below the national average. Set against a $38,190 median income, cost of living beats 3% of zip codes.
Is 45203 safe?
45203 is safer than 2% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $829 per resident a year.
Compare 45203 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 45203. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 45203 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.
45203 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 45203: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 45203: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 45203: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 45203: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
45203 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.