Best Places46204, IN Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 46204, 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.
46204 ranks 4,689th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on walkability by a wide margin, and noise is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 46204
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.
46204's strengths and weaknesses
Where 46204 ranks high
- WalkabilityBetter than 99% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than 99% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than 98% of zip codes
- Health outlookBetter than 96% of zip codes
- Educational attainmentBetter than 95% of zip codes
Where 46204 ranks low
- QuietBetter than only 1% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 55 pleasant days a year, better than only 2% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than only 4% of zip codes
- Tree shadeBetter than only 7% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 7% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 46204
A household needs to earn about $104,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 46204 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $90,022, so buying stretches a typical household.
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 46204's effective rate of 0.97%, 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 9 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 46204
46204 runs younger than the country, 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 46204.
Who works in 46204, and how
Work in 46204 centers on professional & technical and health care & social. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 55%
- Work from home 20%
- Transit, walk, or bike 25%
Life in 46204
46204 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 97% of zip codes and more parkland per resident than 77% of zip codes. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 46204 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 46204, month by month
46204 sees roughly 55 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 88 degrees. January highs sit near 39, with lows near 21. The comfortable stretch runs May, June, and August through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 39° | 30° | 21° |
| April | 67° | 53° | 41° |
| July | 88° | 77° | 67° |
| October | 70° | 57° | 46° |
Flying in and out of 46204
Indianapolis International sits about 8 miles away. It is a medium hub and boarded 5.2 million passengers in 2025, with 92 nonstop destinations.
The best schools in and around 46204
Schools across 46204 average a C−, better than 29% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Center For Inquiry School 27C− · 30% proficient
Top middle schools
- Merle Sidener Gifted AcademyA+ · 74% proficient
- Arlington Community Middle SchoolF · 6% proficient
Top high schools
- Arsenal Technical High SchoolD− · 13% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 46204 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
46204 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 46204 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 46204
Is 46204 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 46204 ranks 4,689th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on walkability, biking, and transit, 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 46204 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $388,433. The overall cost of living runs about 8% below the national average. Set against a $90,022 median income, cost of living beats 84% of zip codes.
Is 46204 safe?
46204 is safer than 8% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $573 per resident a year.
Compare 46204 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 46204. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 46204 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.
46204 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 46204: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 46204: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 46204: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 46204: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
46204 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.