Best Places46304, IN Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 46304, 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.
46304 ranks 6,781st of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on fast internet by a wide margin, and noise is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 46304
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.
46304's strengths and weaknesses
Where 46304 ranks high
- Internet speedBetter than 92% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than 89% of zip codes
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 87% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than 81% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than 79% of zip codes
Where 46304 ranks low
- QuietBetter than only 4% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than only 26% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$1,024 a month, better than only 32% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than only 35% of zip codes
- Local economyBetter than only 38% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 46304
A household needs to earn about $76,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 46304 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $93,314, 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 46304's effective rate of 0.92%, 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 8 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 46304
46304's age mix sits close to the national median.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 46304.
Who works in 46304, and how
Work in 46304 centers on manufacturing and health care & social. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 82%
- Work from home 14%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in 46304
46304 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 71% of zip codes. That concentrates in some parts of 46304 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 46304, month by month
46304 sees roughly 91 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 85 degrees. January highs sit near 34, with lows near 21. The comfortable stretch runs May through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 34° | 27° | 21° |
| April | 61° | 49° | 39° |
| July | 85° | 74° | 65° |
| October | 66° | 55° | 47° |
Flying in and out of 46304
Chicago Midway International sits about 38 miles away. It is a large hub and boarded 9.4 million passengers in 2025, with 113 nonstop destinations.
The best schools in and around 46304
Schools across 46304 average a B+, better than 74% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Jackson Elementary SchoolA · 63% proficient
- Brummitt Elementary SchoolA− · 60% proficient
- Bailly Elementary SchoolB+ · 53% proficient
Top middle schools
- Liberty Intermediate SchoolA− · 56% proficient
- Chesterton Middle SchoolB+ · 50% proficient
- Westchester Intermediate SchoolB+ · 48% proficient
Top high schools
- Chesterton Senior High SchoolB+ · 56% proficient
- Portage High SchoolB− · 41% proficient
- Michigan City High SchoolD · 21% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 46304 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
46304 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 46304 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 46304 suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 72% of zip codes, internet is fast and widely advertised, and 14% already work from home.
Retirees
The weather beats 57% of zip codes and health care access beats 76%.
Common questions about living in 46304
Is 46304 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 46304 ranks 6,781st of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on fast internet, big-city access, and cheap car insurance, and lowest on noise and air quality. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 46304 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $286,464. The overall cost of living runs about 3% below the national average. Set against a $93,314 median income, cost of living beats 72% of zip codes.
Is 46304 safe?
Yes, 46304 is safer than 70% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $242 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 46304?
July highs average about 85 degrees, and January highs near 34 with lows near 21. That works out to about 91 pleasant days a year, more than 57% of zip codes.
Is 46304 good for families?
Schools beat 74% of zip codes, crime safety beats 70%, and childcare runs $1,024 a month.
Compare 46304 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 46304. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 46304 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.
46304 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 46304: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 46304: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 46304: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 46304: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
46304 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.