Best Places46221, IN Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 46221, 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.
46221 ranks 23,345th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. The weather pulls hardest against it, while it scores best on cell coverage.
The best neighborhoods in 46221
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.
46221's strengths and weaknesses
Where 46221 ranks high
- Cell coverageBetter than 86% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than 84% of zip codes
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 83% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than 82% of zip codes
- Internet speedBetter than 82% of zip codes
Where 46221 ranks low
- Nice weatherabout 55 pleasant days a year, better than only 2% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than only 5% of zip codes
- School gradeD, better than only 8% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than only 10% of zip codes
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 13% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 46221
A household needs to earn about $47,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 46221 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $67,759, 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 46221's effective rate of 0.89%, 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 5 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 46221
46221 runs younger than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 46221.
Who works in 46221, and how
Work in 46221 centers on transportation & warehousing and retail trade. 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 6%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in 46221
46221 has fewer places to eat and drink per resident than most zip codes and more parkland per resident than 74% of zip codes. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 46221 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 46221, month by month
46221 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 46221
Indianapolis International sits about 3 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 46221
Schools across 46221 average a D, better than 8% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Rosa Parks Elementary SchoolB · 50% proficient
- Blue AcademyC · 32% proficient
- West Newton Elementary SchoolC− · 29% proficient
Top middle schools
- Merle Sidener Gifted AcademyA+ · 74% proficient
- Perry Meridian 6th Grade AcademyB− · 40% proficient
- Lynhurst 7th & 8th Grade CenterD · 21% proficient
Top high schools
- Perry Meridian High SchoolB− · 45% proficient
- Decatur Central High SchoolC · 34% proficient
- Ben Davis High SchoolC− · 26% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 46221 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
46221 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 46221 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 46221 suits
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 6% already work from home.
Retirees
Set weather, quiet, and health care weights on the map to test the fit.
Common questions about living in 46221
Is 46221 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 46221 ranks 23,345th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on cell coverage, low disaster risk, and cheap car insurance, and lowest on the weather and air quality. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 46221 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $177,648. The overall cost of living runs about 18% below the national average. Set against a $67,759 median income, cost of living beats 47% of zip codes.
Is 46221 safe?
46221 is safer than 30% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $374 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 46221?
July highs average about 88 degrees, and January highs near 39 with lows near 21. That works out to about 55 pleasant days a year, more than 2% of zip codes.
Is 46221 good for families?
Schools beat 8% of zip codes, crime safety beats 30%, and childcare runs $808 a month.
Compare 46221 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 46221. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 46221 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.
46221 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 46221: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 46221: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 46221: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 46221: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
46221 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.