Best Places45238, OH Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 45238, 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.
45238 ranks 12,492nd of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on transit by a wide margin, and the weather ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 45238
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.
45238's strengths and weaknesses
Where 45238 ranks high
- TransitBetter than 92% of zip codes
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 87% of zip codes
- Cell coverageBetter than 85% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than 80% of zip codes
- Low vacancyBetter than 80% of zip codes
Where 45238 ranks low
- Nice weatherabout 52 pleasant days a year, better than only 1% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than only 15% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$1,273 a month, better than only 17% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than only 18% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than only 26% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 45238
A household needs to earn about $51,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 45238 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $73,396, 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 45238's effective rate of 1.43%, 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 6 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 45238
45238 runs younger than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 45238.
Who works in 45238, and how
Work in 45238 centers on health care & social and retail trade. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 82%
- Work from home 10%
- Transit, walk, or bike 8%
Life in 45238
45238 has more parkland per resident than 86% of zip codes. That concentrates in some parts of 45238 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 45238, month by month
45238 sees roughly 52 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 88 degrees. January highs sit near 43, with lows near 23. The comfortable stretch runs April through June and August through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 43° | 32° | 23° |
| April | 68° | 55° | 43° |
| July | 88° | 77° | 67° |
| October | 71° | 59° | 47° |
Flying in and out of 45238
Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International sits about 5 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 45238
Schools across 45238 average a C+, better than 49% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- John Foster Dulles Elementary SchoolA+ · 77% proficient
- C O Harrison Elementary SchoolA+ · 76% proficient
- Delshire Elementary SchoolA− · 56% proficient
Top middle schools
- Rapid Run Middle SchoolA+ · 73% proficient
- Delhi Middle SchoolA · 63% proficient
Top high schools
- Oak Hills High SchoolB · 47% proficient
- Achievepoint Career Academy - CincinnatiD+ · 25% proficient
- Hughes Stem High SchoolD · 21% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 45238 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
45238 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 45238 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 45238 suits
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 10% already work from home.
Retirees
Set weather, quiet, and health care weights on the map to test the fit.
Common questions about living in 45238
Is 45238 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 45238 ranks 12,492nd of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on transit, cheap car insurance, and cell coverage, and lowest on the weather and property taxes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 45238 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $180,864. The overall cost of living runs about 16% below the national average. Set against a $73,396 median income, cost of living beats 58% of zip codes.
Is 45238 safe?
45238 is safer than 26% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $398 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 45238?
July highs average about 88 degrees, and January highs near 43 with lows near 23. That works out to about 52 pleasant days a year, more than 1% of zip codes.
Is 45238 good for families?
Schools beat 49% of zip codes, crime safety beats 26%, and childcare runs $1,273 a month.
Compare 45238 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 45238. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 45238 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.
45238 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 45238: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 45238: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 45238: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 45238: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
45238 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.