Best Places46385, IN Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 46385, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Local pay runs high here, and housing takes the biggest bite out of it. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
46385 ranks 3,336th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on low crime by a wide margin, and air quality ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 46385
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.
46385's strengths and weaknesses
Where 46385 ranks high
- Crime safetyBetter than 93% of zip codes
- Internet speedBetter than 91% of zip codes
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 88% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than 88% of zip codes
- Low vacancyBetter than 87% of zip codes
Where 46385 ranks low
- Air qualityBetter than only 21% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than only 21% of zip codes
- Short commute29.6 minutes each way, better than only 30% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$1,024 a month, better than only 32% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 42% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 46385
A household needs to earn about $85,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 46385 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $104,475, 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 46385's effective rate of 0.82%, 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 9 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 46385
46385 runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 46385.
Who works in 46385, and how
Work in 46385 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 88%
- Work from home 9%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in 46385
46385 has fewer places to eat and drink per resident than most zip codes. That concentrates in some parts of 46385 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 46385, month by month
46385 sees roughly 93 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 46385
Chicago Midway International sits about 39 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 46385
Schools across 46385 average a B+, better than 75% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Memorial Elementary SchoolA+ · 77% proficient
- Heavilin Elementary SchoolA · 65% proficient
- Morgan Township Elementary SchoolA · 65% proficient
Top middle schools
- Benjamin Franklin Middle SchoolA · 59% proficient
- Chesterton Middle SchoolB+ · 50% proficient
- Union Township Middle SchoolB · 45% proficient
Top high schools
- Valparaiso High SchoolA− · 65% proficient
- Morgan Township Middle/high SchoolA− · 62% proficient
- Chesterton Senior High SchoolB+ · 56% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 46385 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
46385 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 46385 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 46385 suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 83% of zip codes, internet is fast and widely advertised, and 9% already work from home.
Retirees
The weather beats 58% of zip codes and health care access beats 73%.
Common questions about living in 46385
Is 46385 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 46385 ranks 3,336th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on low crime, fast internet, and cheap car insurance, and lowest on air quality and noise. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 46385 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $323,665. The overall cost of living runs about 2% below the national average. Set against a $104,475 median income, cost of living beats 83% of zip codes.
Is 46385 safe?
Yes, 46385 is safer than 93% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $157 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 46385?
July highs average about 85 degrees, and January highs near 34 with lows near 21. That works out to about 93 pleasant days a year, more than 58% of zip codes.
Is 46385 good for families?
Schools beat 75% of zip codes, crime safety beats 93%, and childcare runs $1,024 a month.
Compare 46385 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 46385. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 46385 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.
46385 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 46385: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 46385: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 46385: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 46385: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
46385 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.