Best Places45242, OH Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 45242, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Local pay runs high here, and housing takes the biggest bite out of it. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
45242 ranks 336th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on good schools by a wide margin, and noise is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 45242
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.
45242's strengths and weaknesses
Where 45242 ranks high
- School gradeA+, better than 99% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than 98% of zip codes
- Educational attainmentBetter than 96% of zip codes
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 96% of zip codes
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 95% of zip codes
Where 45242 ranks low
- QuietBetter than only 7% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 64 pleasant days a year, better than only 14% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than only 16% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$1,273 a month, better than only 17% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than only 19% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 45242
A household needs to earn about $129,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 45242 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $130,086, 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 45242's effective rate of 1.31%, 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 10 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 45242
45242'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 45242.
Who works in 45242, and how
Work in 45242 centers on health care & social and manufacturing. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 79%
- Work from home 20%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in 45242
45242 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 82% of zip codes and more parkland per resident than 96% of zip codes. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 45242 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 45242, month by month
45242 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 45242
Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International sits about 21 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 45242
Schools across 45242 average an A+, better than 99% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Montgomery Elementary SchoolA+ · 94% proficient
- Maple Dale Elementary SchoolA+ · 88% proficient
- Blue Ash ElementaryA+ · 82% proficient
Top middle schools
- Indian Hill Middle SchoolA+ · 88% proficient
- Sycamore Junior High SchoolA+ · 86% proficient
- Edwin H Greene Intermediate Middle SchoolA+ · 85% proficient
Top high schools
- Indian Hill High SchoolA+ · 82% proficient
- Sycamore High SchoolA+ · 82% proficient
- Deer Park Jr/sr High SchoolB+ · 55% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 45242 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
45242 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 45242 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 45242 suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 96% of zip codes, internet is fast and widely advertised, and 20% already work from home.
Common questions about living in 45242
Is 45242 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 45242 ranks 336th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on good schools, health care access, and an educated workforce, and lowest on noise and the weather. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 45242 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $459,905. The overall cost of living runs about 4% below the national average. Set against a $130,086 median income, cost of living beats 96% of zip codes.
Is 45242 safe?
Yes, 45242 is safer than 72% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $229 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 45242?
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 45242 good for families?
Schools beat 99% of zip codes, crime safety beats 72%, and childcare runs $1,273 a month.
Compare 45242 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 45242. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 45242 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.
45242 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 45242: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 45242: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 45242: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 45242: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
45242 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.