Best Places47977, IN Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 47977, 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.
47977 ranks 10,668th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on cheap car insurance by a wide margin, and taxes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 47977
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.
47977's strengths and weaknesses
Where 47977 ranks high
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 92% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than 83% of zip codes
- Short commute20.8 minutes each way, better than 82% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than 79% of zip codes
- Local economyBetter than 79% of zip codes
Where 47977 ranks low
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 7% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than only 12% of zip codes
- Tree shadeBetter than only 20% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than only 32% of zip codes
- Health outlookBetter than only 34% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 47977
A household needs to earn about $43,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 47977 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $84,373, 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 47977's effective rate of 0.49%, 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 8 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 47977
47977 runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 47977.
Who works in 47977, and how
Work in 47977 centers on manufacturing and construction. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 90%
- Work from home 6%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in 47977
47977 has more parkland per resident than 98% of zip codes. That concentrates in some parts of 47977 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 47977, month by month
47977 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 47977
Chicago Midway International sits about 77 miles away. It is a large hub and boarded 9.4 million passengers in 2025, with 113 nonstop destinations.
The best schools in and around 47977
Schools across 47977 average a B, better than 65% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Van Rensselaer Elementary SchoolB+ · 52% proficient
- Prairie Crossing Elementary SchoolB− · 43% proficient
Top middle schools
- Rensselaer Middle SchoolB− · 39% proficient
Top high schools
- Tri-county Jr/sr High SchoolB− · 45% proficient
- Benton Central Jr-sr High SchoolB− · 45% proficient
- Rensselaer Central High SchoolB− · 40% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 47977 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
47977 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 47977 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 47977
Is 47977 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 47977 ranks 10,668th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on cheap car insurance, low property taxes, and short commutes, 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 47977 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $171,651. The overall cost of living runs about 11% below the national average. Set against a $84,373 median income, cost of living beats 73% of zip codes.
Is 47977 safe?
47977 is safer than 41% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $311 per resident a year.
Compare 47977 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 47977. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 47977 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.
47977 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 47977: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 47977: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 47977: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 47977: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
47977 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.