Best Places46342, IN Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 46342, 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.
46342 ranks 17,207th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on big-city access by a wide margin, and noise is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 46342
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.
46342's strengths and weaknesses
Where 46342 ranks high
- Big-city accessBetter than 90% of zip codes
- Internet speedBetter than 90% of zip codes
- Cell coverageBetter than 85% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than 83% of zip codes
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 82% of zip codes
Where 46342 ranks low
- QuietBetter than only 14% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than only 14% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than only 16% of zip codes
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 24% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than only 32% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 46342
A household needs to earn about $55,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 46342 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $79,967, 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 46342's effective rate of 1.05%, 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 7 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 46342
46342'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 46342.
Who works in 46342, and how
Work in 46342 centers on manufacturing and health care & social. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 92%
- Work from home 6%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in 46342
46342 has more parkland per resident than 70% of zip codes. That concentrates in some parts of 46342 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 46342, month by month
46342 sees roughly 78 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 83 degrees. January highs sit near 35, with lows near 22. The comfortable stretch runs May through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 35° | 28° | 22° |
| April | 60° | 50° | 41° |
| July | 83° | 75° | 66° |
| October | 65° | 56° | 47° |
Flying in and out of 46342
Chicago Midway International sits about 31 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 46342
Schools across 46342 average a C+, better than 40% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Union Center Elementary SchoolB+ · 55% proficient
- John Simatovich Elementary SchoolB · 45% proficient
- Joan Martin Elementary SchoolB · 45% proficient
Top middle schools
- Union Township Middle SchoolB · 45% proficient
- Hobart Middle SchoolC+ · 36% proficient
- Pierce Middle SchoolC− · 28% proficient
Top high schools
- Wheeler High SchoolB+ · 55% proficient
- Hobart High SchoolB− · 44% proficient
- Portage High SchoolB− · 41% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 46342 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
46342 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 46342 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 46342 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 46342
Is 46342 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 46342 ranks 17,207th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on big-city access, fast internet, and cell coverage, and lowest on noise and crime. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 46342 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $204,780. The overall cost of living runs about 6% below the national average. Set against a $79,967 median income, cost of living beats 52% of zip codes.
Is 46342 safe?
46342 is safer than 14% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $482 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 46342?
July highs average about 83 degrees, and January highs near 35 with lows near 22. That works out to about 78 pleasant days a year, more than 41% of zip codes.
Is 46342 good for families?
Schools beat 40% of zip codes, crime safety beats 14%, and childcare runs $879 a month.
Compare 46342 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 46342. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 46342 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.
46342 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 46342: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 46342: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 46342: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 46342: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
46342 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.