Best Places45224, OH Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 45224, 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.
45224 ranks 22,989th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on transit by a wide margin, and a weak job market ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 45224
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.
45224's strengths and weaknesses
Where 45224 ranks high
- TransitBetter than 94% of zip codes
- Cell coverageBetter than 89% of zip codes
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 80% of zip codes
- Low vacancyBetter than 79% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than 78% of zip codes
Where 45224 ranks low
- Local economyBetter than only 11% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than only 12% of zip codes
- School gradeD+, better than only 12% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than only 12% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than only 14% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 45224
A household needs to earn about $56,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 45224 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $61,630, 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 45224's effective rate of 1.52%, 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 7 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 45224
45224 runs older 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 45224.
Who works in 45224, and how
Work in 45224 centers on health care & social and retail trade. Unemployment runs well above the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 83%
- Work from home 12%
- Transit, walk, or bike 5%
Life in 45224
45224 has more parkland per resident than 76% of zip codes. That concentrates in some parts of 45224 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 45224, month by month
45224 sees roughly 64 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 45224
Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International sits about 13 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 45224
Schools across 45224 average a D+, better than 12% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Vermont Avenue Elementary SchoolA+ · 80% proficient
- Academy Of World Languages SchoolD · 18% proficient
- North College Hill Elementary SchoolD · 18% proficient
Top middle schools
- North College Hill Middle SchoolD− · 18% proficient
Top high schools
- Finneytown Secondary CampusC · 34% proficient
- North College Hill 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 45224 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
45224 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 45224 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 45224 suits
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 12% already work from home.
Retirees
Set weather, quiet, and health care weights on the map to test the fit.
Common questions about living in 45224
Is 45224 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 45224 ranks 22,989th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on transit, cell coverage, and cheap car insurance, and lowest on a weak job market and crime. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 45224 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $195,270. The overall cost of living runs about 16% below the national average. Set against a $61,630 median income, cost of living beats 35% of zip codes.
Is 45224 safe?
45224 is safer than 12% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $528 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 45224?
July highs average about 89 degrees, and January highs near 44 with lows near 23. That works out to about 64 pleasant days a year, more than 14% of zip codes.
Is 45224 good for families?
Schools beat 12% of zip codes, crime safety beats 12%, and childcare runs $1,273 a month.
Compare 45224 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 45224. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 45224 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.
45224 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 45224: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 45224: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 45224: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 45224: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
45224 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.