Best Places46240, IN Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 46240, 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.
46240 ranks 7,473rd of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on biking by a wide margin, and the weather ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 46240
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.
46240's strengths and weaknesses
Where 46240 ranks high
- BikingBetter than 92% of zip codes
- Educational attainmentBetter than 91% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than 87% of zip codes
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 87% of zip codes
- Internet speedBetter than 86% of zip codes
Where 46240 ranks low
- Nice weatherabout 60 pleasant days a year, better than only 8% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than only 10% of zip codes
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 13% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 14% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than only 15% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 46240
A household needs to earn about $104,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 46240 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $92,840, 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 46240's effective rate of 0.98%, 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 46240
46240'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 46240.
Who works in 46240, and how
Work in 46240 centers on professional & technical and health care & social. Unemployment is low, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 77%
- Work from home 21%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in 46240
46240 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 90% of zip codes and more parkland per resident than 74% of zip codes. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 46240 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 46240, month by month
46240 sees roughly 60 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 84 degrees. January highs sit near 37, with lows near 19. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 37° | 28° | 19° |
| April | 64° | 50° | 39° |
| July | 84° | 73° | 62° |
| October | 68° | 54° | 43° |
Flying in and out of 46240
Indianapolis International sits about 16 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 46240
Schools across 46240 average a C, better than 40% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Forest Dale Elementary SchoolB+ · 55% proficient
- Allisonville Elementary SchoolB− · 43% proficient
- Clearwater Elementary SchoolB− · 42% proficient
Top middle schools
- Clay Middle SchoolA · 64% proficient
- Carmel Middle SchoolA− · 56% proficient
- Eastwood Middle SchoolC+ · 39% proficient
Top high schools
- Carmel High SchoolA+ · 80% proficient
- North Central High SchoolB · 48% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 46240 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
46240 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 46240 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 46240 suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 87% of zip codes, internet is fast and widely advertised, and 21% already work from home.
Common questions about living in 46240
Is 46240 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 46240 ranks 7,473rd of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on biking, an educated workforce, and health care access, 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 46240 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $388,067. The overall cost of living runs about 13% below the national average. Set against a $92,840 median income, cost of living beats 87% of zip codes.
Is 46240 safe?
46240 is safer than 29% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $352 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 46240?
July highs average about 84 degrees, and January highs near 37 with lows near 19. That works out to about 60 pleasant days a year, more than 8% of zip codes.
Is 46240 good for families?
Schools beat 40% of zip codes, crime safety beats 29%, and childcare runs $808 a month.
Compare 46240 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 46240. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 46240 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.
46240 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 46240: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 46240: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 46240: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 46240: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
46240 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.