Best Places47959, IN Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 47959, 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.
47959 ranks 24,254th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on heat safety by a wide margin, and education levels rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 47959
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.
47959's strengths and weaknesses
Where 47959 ranks high
- Heat safetyBetter than 93% of zip codes
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 91% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than 91% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than 81% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than 80% of zip codes
Where 47959 ranks low
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 1% of zip codes
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 7% of zip codes
- Household income$50,200 median, better than only 11% of zip codes
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 11% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 14% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 47959
A household needs to earn about $27,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 47959 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $50,200, 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 47959's effective rate of 0.52%, 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 4 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 47959
47959 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 47959.
Who works in 47959, and how
Work in 47959 centers on manufacturing and retail trade. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 94%
- Work from home 3%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in 47959
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 47959.
What the weather is like in 47959, month by month
47959 sees roughly 84 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 82 degrees. January highs sit near 34, with lows near 21. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 34° | 27° | 21° |
| April | 61° | 49° | 40° |
| July | 82° | 73° | 63° |
| October | 65° | 54° | 45° |
Flying in and out of 47959
The nearest airport, South Bend International, is about 65 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Chicago Midway International, about 78 miles away.
The best schools in and around 47959
Schools across 47959 average a C−, better than 28% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Tri-county Intermediate SchoolC · 35% proficient
- West Central Elementary SchoolC− · 30% proficient
- North White Elementary SchoolD+ · 24% proficient
Top middle schools
- Rensselaer Middle SchoolB− · 39% proficient
- West Central Middle SchoolC− · 28% proficient
- North White Middle SchoolD+ · 25% proficient
Top high schools
- Tri-county Jr/sr High SchoolB− · 45% proficient
- Rensselaer Central High SchoolB− · 40% proficient
- North White High SchoolC+ · 40% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 47959 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
47959 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 47959 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 47959
Is 47959 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 47959 ranks 24,254th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on heat safety, cheap car insurance, and walkability, 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 47959 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $107,281. The overall cost of living runs about 17% below the national average. Set against a $50,200 median income, cost of living beats 11% of zip codes.
Is 47959 safe?
47959 is safer than 34% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $337 per resident a year.
Compare 47959 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 47959. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 47959 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.
47959 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 47959: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 47959: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 47959: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 47959: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
47959 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.