Best Places45420, OH Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 45420, 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.
45420 ranks 12,237th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on cheap car insurance by a wide margin, and the weather ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 45420
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.
45420's strengths and weaknesses
Where 45420 ranks high
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 94% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than 92% of zip codes
- Low vacancyBetter than 91% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than 90% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than 89% of zip codes
Where 45420 ranks low
- Nice weatherabout 59 pleasant days a year, better than only 7% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than only 11% 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 28% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 45420
A household needs to earn about $39,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 45420 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $62,582, 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 45420's effective rate of 1.55%, 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 4 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 45420
45420's age mix sits close to the national median, 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 45420.
Who works in 45420, and how
Work in 45420 centers on health care & social and manufacturing. Unemployment is low, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 89%
- Work from home 8%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in 45420
45420 has more parkland per resident than 91% of zip codes. That concentrates in some parts of 45420 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 45420, month by month
45420 sees roughly 59 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 87 degrees. January highs sit near 40, 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 | 40° | 31° | 22° |
| April | 67° | 53° | 40° |
| July | 87° | 76° | 65° |
| October | 70° | 57° | 45° |
Flying in and out of 45420
The nearest airport, James M Cox Dayton International, is about 13 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International, about 54 miles away.
The best schools in and around 45420
Schools across 45420 average a B, better than 74% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Indian Riffle Elementary SchoolA+ · 80% proficient
- Valley Elementary SchoolA · 67% proficient
- Beavertown Elementary SchoolB+ · 52% proficient
Top middle schools
- Oakwood Junior High SchoolA+ · 89% proficient
- Herman K Ankeney Middle SchoolA+ · 73% proficient
- Kettering Middle SchoolA · 59% proficient
Top high schools
- Oakwood High SchoolA+ · 88% proficient
- Dayton Regional Stem SchoolA+ · 82% proficient
- Beavercreek High SchoolA · 69% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 45420 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
45420 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 45420 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 45420 suits
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 8% already work from home.
Retirees
Set weather, quiet, and health care weights on the map to test the fit.
Common questions about living in 45420
Is 45420 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 45420 ranks 12,237th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on cheap car insurance, transit, and few empty homes, 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 45420 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $136,304. The overall cost of living runs about 12% below the national average. Set against a $62,582 median income, cost of living beats 31% of zip codes.
Is 45420 safe?
45420 is safer than 28% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $371 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 45420?
July highs average about 87 degrees, and January highs near 40 with lows near 22. That works out to about 59 pleasant days a year, more than 7% of zip codes.
Is 45420 good for families?
Schools beat 74% of zip codes, crime safety beats 28%, and childcare runs $1,273 a month.
Compare 45420 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 45420. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 45420 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.
45420 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 45420: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 45420: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 45420: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 45420: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
45420 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.