Best Places46381, IN Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 46381, 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.
46381 ranks 19,553rd of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on few empty homes by a wide margin, and long commutes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 46381
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.
46381's strengths and weaknesses
Where 46381 ranks high
- Low vacancyBetter than 98% of zip codes
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 86% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than 84% of zip codes
- Heat safetyBetter than 80% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than 79% of zip codes
Where 46381 ranks low
- Short commute37.5 minutes each way, better than only 7% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than only 16% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than only 17% of zip codes
- Health outlookBetter than only 19% of zip codes
- Cell coverageBetter than only 22% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 46381
A household needs to earn about $68,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 46381 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $81,771, 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 46381's effective rate of 0.71%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Who lives in 46381
46381 runs younger than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 46381.
Who works in 46381, and how
Work in 46381 centers on transportation & warehousing and construction. Unemployment is low, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 92%
- Work from home 4%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in 46381
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 46381.
What the weather is like in 46381, month by month
46381 sees roughly 100 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 82 degrees. January highs sit near 34, with lows near 21. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 34° | 27° | 21° |
| April | 61° | 49° | 40° |
| July | 82° | 73° | 63° |
| October | 65° | 54° | 45° |
Flying in and out of 46381
Chicago Midway International sits about 48 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 46381
Schools across 46381 average a C−, better than 24% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Lincoln Elementary SchoolD+ · 23% proficient
Top high schools
- North Newton Jr-sr High SchoolC · 31% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 46381 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
46381 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 46381 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 46381
Is 46381 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 46381 ranks 19,553rd of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on few empty homes, cheap car insurance, and big-city access, and lowest on long commutes and air quality. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 46381 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $261,900. The overall cost of living runs about 1% below the national average. Set against a $81,771 median income, cost of living beats 50% of zip codes.
Is 46381 safe?
Yes, 46381 is safer than 73% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $209 per resident a year.
Compare 46381 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 46381. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 46381 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.
46381 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 46381: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 46381: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 46381: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 46381: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
46381 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.