Best Places45440, OH Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 45440, 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.
45440 ranks 2,548th 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 45440
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.
45440's strengths and weaknesses
Where 45440 ranks high
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 97% of zip codes
- School gradeA, better than 94% of zip codes
- Educational attainmentBetter than 88% of zip codes
- Internet speedBetter than 88% of zip codes
- Low vacancyBetter than 86% of zip codes
Where 45440 ranks low
- Nice weatherabout 58 pleasant days a year, better than only 5% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than only 8% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$1,273 a month, better than only 17% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than only 19% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than only 20% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 45440
A household needs to earn about $83,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 45440 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $92,554, 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 45440's effective rate of 1.71%, 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 45440
45440'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 45440.
Who works in 45440, and how
Work in 45440 centers on health care & social and retail trade. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 82%
- Work from home 14%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in 45440
45440 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 77% of zip codes and more late-night spots per resident than 90% of zip codes. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 45440 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 45440, month by month
45440 sees roughly 58 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 87 degrees. January highs sit near 41, 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 | 41° | 32° | 23° |
| April | 67° | 54° | 42° |
| July | 87° | 76° | 66° |
| October | 70° | 58° | 46° |
Flying in and out of 45440
The nearest airport, James M Cox Dayton International, is about 17 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International, about 53 miles away.
The best schools in and around 45440
Schools across 45440 average an A, better than 94% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Indian Riffle Elementary SchoolA+ · 80% proficient
- Fairbrook Elementary SchoolA+ · 76% proficient
- Prass Elementary SchoolA+ · 72% proficient
Top middle schools
- Bellbrook Middle SchoolA+ · 82% proficient
- Herman K Ankeney Middle SchoolA+ · 73% proficient
- Hadley E Watts Middle SchoolA+ · 69% proficient
Top high schools
- Dayton Regional Stem SchoolA+ · 82% proficient
- Bellbrook High SchoolA · 78% proficient
- Centerville High SchoolA · 76% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 45440 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
45440 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 45440 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 45440 suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 79% of zip codes, internet is fast and widely advertised, and 14% already work from home.
Common questions about living in 45440
Is 45440 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 45440 ranks 2,548th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on cheap car insurance, good schools, and an educated workforce, 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 45440 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $284,009. The overall cost of living runs about 10% below the national average. Set against a $92,554 median income, cost of living beats 79% of zip codes.
Is 45440 safe?
Yes, 45440 is safer than 81% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $209 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 45440?
July highs average about 87 degrees, and January highs near 41 with lows near 23. That works out to about 58 pleasant days a year, more than 5% of zip codes.
Is 45440 good for families?
Schools beat 94% of zip codes, crime safety beats 81%, and childcare runs $1,273 a month.
Compare 45440 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 45440. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 45440 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.
45440 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 45440: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 45440: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 45440: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 45440: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
45440 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.