Best Places46511, IN Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 46511, 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.
46511 ranks 22,528th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. Empty homes pulls hardest against it, while it scores best on cheap car insurance.
The best neighborhoods in 46511
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.
46511's strengths and weaknesses
Where 46511 ranks high
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 89% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than 79% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than 77% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than 75% of zip codes
- Short commute22.3 minutes each way, better than 74% of zip codes
Where 46511 ranks low
- Low vacancyBetter than only 8% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 14% of zip codes
- Health outlookBetter than only 18% of zip codes
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 23% of zip codes
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 24% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 46511
A household needs to earn about $62,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 46511 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $62,256, 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 46511's effective rate of 0.58%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices and rents, renting stays cheaper than buying across the first 10 years here, so the case for buying rests on staying much longer or on prices rising faster than assumed. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 46511
46511 runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 46511.
Who works in 46511, and how
Work in 46511 centers on education and manufacturing. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 84%
- Work from home 10%
- Transit, walk, or bike 7%
Life in 46511
46511 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 76% of zip codes. That concentrates in some parts of 46511 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 46511, month by month
46511 sees roughly 73 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 82 degrees. January highs sit near 34, with lows near 22. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 34° | 28° | 22° |
| April | 60° | 48° | 39° |
| July | 82° | 72° | 62° |
| October | 65° | 53° | 44° |
Flying in and out of 46511
The nearest airport, South Bend International, is about 34 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Chicago Midway International, about 79 miles away.
The best schools in and around 46511
Schools across 46511 average a C, better than 32% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Culver Elementary SchoolB− · 43% proficient
- Knox Community Elementary SchoolC+ · 38% proficient
- Menominee Elementary SchoolC− · 27% proficient
Top middle schools
- Riverside IntermediateC− · 30% proficient
- Knox Community Middle SchoolD · 21% proficient
Top high schools
- Plymouth High SchoolB · 46% proficient
- Knox Community High SchoolB− · 43% proficient
- Culver Community Middle/high SchD+ · 25% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 46511 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
46511 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 46511 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 46511
Is 46511 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 46511 ranks 22,528th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on cheap car insurance, state infrastructure, and big-city access, and lowest on empty homes and an overheated housing market. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 46511 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $242,997. The overall cost of living runs about 5% below the national average. Set against a $62,256 median income, cost of living beats 23% of zip codes.
Is 46511 safe?
46511 is safer than 53% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $285 per resident a year.
Compare 46511 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 46511. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 46511 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.
46511 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 46511: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 46511: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 46511: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 46511: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
46511 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.