Best Places46540, IN Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 46540, 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.
46540 ranks 14,154th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on cheap car insurance by a wide margin, and education levels rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 46540
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.
46540's strengths and weaknesses
Where 46540 ranks high
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 94% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than 93% of zip codes
- Heat safetyBetter than 92% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than 79% of zip codes
- Short commute21.5 minutes each way, better than 78% of zip codes
Where 46540 ranks low
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 5% of zip codes
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 15% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than only 20% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 26% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than only 30% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 46540
A household needs to earn about $88,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 46540 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $88,175, 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 46540's effective rate of 0.91%, 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 46540
46540 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 46540.
Who works in 46540, and how
Work in 46540 centers on manufacturing and retail trade. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 82%
- Work from home 7%
- Transit, walk, or bike 11%
Life in 46540
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 46540.
What the weather is like in 46540, month by month
46540 sees roughly 81 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 85 degrees. January highs sit near 35, with lows near 19. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 35° | 27° | 19° |
| April | 62° | 49° | 37° |
| July | 85° | 73° | 62° |
| October | 67° | 54° | 43° |
Flying in and out of 46540
The nearest airport, South Bend International, is about 32 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Chicago Midway International, about 106 miles away.
The best schools in and around 46540
Schools across 46540 average a B, better than 65% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Middlebury Elementary SchoolA · 65% proficient
- Orchard View SchoolB+ · 55% proficient
- Millersburg Elementary- Middle SchB · 47% proficient
Top middle schools
- Westview Elementary SchoolB+ · 52% proficient
- Northridge Middle SchoolB · 43% proficient
Top high schools
- Westview Jr-sr High SchoolB · 47% proficient
- Northridge High SchoolB · 47% proficient
- Fairfield Jr-sr High SchoolC+ · 38% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 46540 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
46540 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 46540 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 46540
Is 46540 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 46540 ranks 14,154th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on cheap car insurance, low disaster risk, and heat safety, and lowest on education levels and taxes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 46540 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $331,568. The overall cost of living runs about 10% below the national average. Set against a $88,175 median income, cost of living beats 72% of zip codes.
Is 46540 safe?
46540 is safer than 20% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $408 per resident a year.
Compare 46540 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 46540. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 46540 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.
46540 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 46540: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 46540: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 46540: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 46540: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
46540 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.