Best Places46544, IN Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 46544, 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.
46544 ranks 18,018th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on low disaster risk by a wide margin, and noise is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 46544
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.
46544's strengths and weaknesses
Where 46544 ranks high
- Disaster safetyBetter than 95% of zip codes
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 88% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than 84% of zip codes
- Internet speedBetter than 83% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than 80% of zip codes
Where 46544 ranks low
- QuietBetter than only 8% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 64 pleasant days a year, better than only 14% of zip codes
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 20% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than only 23% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than only 25% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 46544
A household needs to earn about $48,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 46544 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $66,280, 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 46544's effective rate of 0.87%, 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 6 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 46544
46544 runs younger than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 46544.
Who works in 46544, and how
Work in 46544 centers on manufacturing and health care & social. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 88%
- Work from home 8%
- Transit, walk, or bike 5%
Life in 46544
46544 has more parkland per resident than 78% of zip codes. That concentrates in some parts of 46544 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 46544, month by month
46544 sees roughly 64 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 86 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° | 48° | 36° |
| July | 86° | 74° | 62° |
| October | 67° | 54° | 44° |
Flying in and out of 46544
The nearest airport, South Bend International, is about 9 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Chicago Midway International, about 83 miles away.
The best schools in and around 46544
Schools across 46544 average a C+, better than 46% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Moran Elementary SchoolA · 62% proficient
- Madison Elementary SchoolB+ · 52% proficient
- Elm Road Elementary SchoolB+ · 50% proficient
Top middle schools
- Schmucker Middle SchoolB+ · 52% proficient
- Lasalle AcademyB− · 40% proficient
- Virgil I Grissom Middle SchoolC+ · 36% proficient
Top high schools
- Penn High SchoolA− · 64% proficient
- Mishawaka High SchoolB− · 44% proficient
- Rise Up Academy At EgglestonD− · 15% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 46544 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
46544 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 46544 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 46544 suits
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 8% already work from home.
Retirees
Set weather, quiet, and health care weights on the map to test the fit.
Common questions about living in 46544
Is 46544 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 46544 ranks 18,018th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on low disaster risk, cheap car insurance, and biking, and lowest on noise and the weather. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 46544 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $181,042. The overall cost of living runs about 17% below the national average. Set against a $66,280 median income, cost of living beats 44% of zip codes.
Is 46544 safe?
46544 is safer than 25% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $424 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 46544?
July highs average about 86 degrees, and January highs near 35 with lows near 19. That works out to about 64 pleasant days a year, more than 14% of zip codes.
Is 46544 good for families?
Schools beat 46% of zip codes, crime safety beats 25%, and childcare runs $831 a month.
Compare 46544 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 46544. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 46544 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.
46544 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 46544: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 46544: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 46544: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 46544: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
46544 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.