Best Places46532, IN Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 46532, 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.
46532 ranks 19,661st of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores best on cheap car insurance, and taxes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 46532
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.
46532's strengths and weaknesses
Where 46532 ranks high
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 88% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than 81% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than 80% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than 79% of zip codes
- Low vacancyBetter than 74% of zip codes
Where 46532 ranks low
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 21% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than only 22% of zip codes
- School gradeC−, better than only 24% of zip codes
- Health outlookBetter than only 24% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than only 26% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 46532
A household needs to earn about $37,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 46532 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $76,501, 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 46532's effective rate of 0.68%, 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 5 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 46532
46532 runs younger than the country, and households here run larger than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 46532.
Who works in 46532, and how
Work in 46532 centers on manufacturing and retail trade. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 91%
- Work from home 7%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in 46532
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 46532.
What the weather is like in 46532, month by month
46532 sees roughly 74 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 46532
The nearest airport, South Bend International, is about 25 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Chicago Midway International, about 64 miles away.
The best schools in and around 46532
Schools across 46532 average a C−, better than 24% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Walkerton Elementary SchoolB · 46% proficient
- South Central Elementary SchoolB− · 43% proficient
- Kingsford Heights Elementary SchC+ · 35% proficient
Top middle schools
- Kesling Intermediate SchoolB− · 41% proficient
- Harold C Urey Middle SchoolB− · 40% proficient
Top high schools
- John Glenn High SchoolB+ · 57% proficient
- South Central Jr-sr High SchoolC+ · 39% proficient
- Oregon-davis Jr-sr High SchoolD · 20% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 46532 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
46532 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 46532 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 46532
Is 46532 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 46532 ranks 19,661st of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on cheap car insurance, big-city access, and low disaster risk, and lowest on taxes and noise. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 46532 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $143,640. The overall cost of living runs about 16% below the national average. Set against a $76,501 median income, cost of living beats 57% of zip codes.
Is 46532 safe?
Yes, 46532 is safer than 59% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $248 per resident a year.
Compare 46532 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 46532. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 46532 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.
46532 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 46532: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 46532: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 46532: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 46532: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
46532 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.