Best Places46254, IN Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 46254, 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.
46254 ranks 20,726th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. The weather pulls hardest against it, while it scores best on biking.
The best neighborhoods in 46254
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.
46254's strengths and weaknesses
Where 46254 ranks high
- BikingBetter than 89% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than 88% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than 87% of zip codes
- Cell coverageBetter than 86% of zip codes
- Internet speedBetter than 82% of zip codes
Where 46254 ranks low
- Nice weatherabout 54 pleasant days a year, better than only 2% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than only 4% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than only 4% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 9% of zip codes
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 13% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 46254
A household needs to earn about $48,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 46254 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $64,063, 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 46254's effective rate of 0.80%, 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 4 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 46254
46254 runs younger than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 46254.
Who works in 46254, and how
Work in 46254 centers on health care & social 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 85%
- Work from home 11%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in 46254
46254 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 73% of zip codes and more parkland per resident than 76% of zip codes. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 46254 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 46254, month by month
46254 sees roughly 54 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 87 degrees. January highs sit near 40, with lows near 22. The comfortable stretch runs May, June, and August through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 40° | 30° | 22° |
| April | 67° | 54° | 42° |
| July | 87° | 77° | 67° |
| October | 70° | 58° | 47° |
Flying in and out of 46254
Indianapolis International sits about 9 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 46254
Schools across 46254 average a C−, better than 26% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Eagle Creek Elementary SchoolC− · 30% proficient
- Center For Inquiry School 27C− · 30% proficient
- Guion Creek Elementary SchoolD+ · 25% proficient
Top middle schools
- Guion Creek Middle SchoolD− · 18% proficient
- Lincoln Middle SchoolD− · 17% proficient
- Chapel Hill 7th & 8th Grade CenterD− · 16% proficient
Top high schools
- Speedway Senior High SchoolB+ · 55% proficient
- Pike High SchoolB · 47% proficient
- Ben Davis High SchoolC− · 26% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 46254 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
46254 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 46254 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 46254 suits
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 11% already work from home.
Retirees
Set weather, quiet, and health care weights on the map to test the fit.
Common questions about living in 46254
Is 46254 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 46254 ranks 20,726th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on biking, transit, and low disaster risk, and lowest on the weather and noise. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 46254 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $184,491. The overall cost of living runs about 18% below the national average. Set against a $64,063 median income, cost of living beats 44% of zip codes.
Is 46254 safe?
46254 is safer than 23% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $421 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 46254?
July highs average about 87 degrees, and January highs near 40 with lows near 22. That works out to about 54 pleasant days a year, more than 2% of zip codes.
Is 46254 good for families?
Schools beat 26% of zip codes, crime safety beats 23%, and childcare runs $808 a month.
Compare 46254 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 46254. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 46254 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.
46254 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 46254: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 46254: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 46254: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 46254: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
46254 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.