Best Places45685, OH Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 45685, 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.
45685 ranks 25,017th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on cheap car insurance by a wide margin, and low incomes rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 45685
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.
45685's strengths and weaknesses
Where 45685 ranks high
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 94% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than 88% of zip codes
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 80% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 71% of zip codes
- Local economyBetter than 68% of zip codes
Where 45685 ranks low
- Household income$50,340 median, better than only 11% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 62 pleasant days a year, better than only 11% of zip codes
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 12% of zip codes
- Internet speedBetter than only 20% of zip codes
- Health outlookBetter than only 21% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 45685
A household needs to earn about $43,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 45685 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $50,340, 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 45685's effective rate of 0.96%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices and rents, renting stays cheaper than buying across the first 10 years here, so the case for buying rests on staying much longer or on prices rising faster than assumed. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 45685
45685 runs younger than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 45685.
Who works in 45685, and how
Work in 45685 centers on health care & social and education. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 90%
- Work from home 4%
- Transit, walk, or bike 7%
Life in 45685
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 45685.
What the weather is like in 45685, month by month
45685 sees roughly 62 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 88 degrees. January highs sit near 43, with lows near 22. The comfortable stretch runs May through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 43° | 32° | 22° |
| April | 69° | 54° | 40° |
| July | 88° | 75° | 64° |
| October | 71° | 56° | 43° |
Flying in and out of 45685
The nearest airport, Tri-State/Milton J Ferguson Field, is about 38 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is John Glenn Columbus International, about 80 miles away.
The best schools in and around 45685
Schools across 45685 average a B, better than 64% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Oak Hill ElementaryA · 70% proficient
- Rio Grande Elementary SchoolB− · 43% proficient
- Southwestern Elementary SchoolB− · 42% proficient
Top middle schools
- Jackson Middle SchoolA · 61% proficient
- River Valley Middle SchoolB+ · 51% proficient
- Gallia Academy Middle SchoolB · 46% proficient
Top high schools
- Gallia Academy High SchoolB+ · 52% proficient
- River Valley High SchoolC · 32% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 45685 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
45685 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 45685 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 45685
Is 45685 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 45685 ranks 25,017th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on cheap car insurance, low disaster risk, and low taxes, and lowest on low incomes and the weather. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 45685 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $162,052. The overall cost of living runs about 13% below the national average. Set against a $50,340 median income, cost of living beats 12% of zip codes.
Is 45685 safe?
45685 is safer than 37% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $326 per resident a year.
Compare 45685 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 45685. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 45685 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.
45685 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 45685: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 45685: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 45685: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 45685: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
45685 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.