Best Places6th Ward, Portsmouth, OH Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around 6th Ward, Portsmouth, 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.
6th Ward, Portsmouth ranks 5,450th of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on cheap car insurance by a wide margin, and biking ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 6th Ward, Portsmouth
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.
6th Ward, Portsmouth's strengths and weaknesses
Where 6th Ward, Portsmouth ranks high
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 97% of neighborhoods
- Cheap childcare$764 a month, better than 92% of neighborhoods
- Tree shadeBetter than 90% of neighborhoods
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 88% of neighborhoods
- Disaster safetyBetter than 74% of neighborhoods
Where 6th Ward, Portsmouth ranks low
- BikingBetter than only 1% of neighborhoods
- Health outlookBetter than only 2% of neighborhoods
- Cell coverageBetter than only 3% of neighborhoods
- Nice weatherabout 56 pleasant days a year, better than only 3% of neighborhoods
- TransitBetter than only 5% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in 6th Ward, Portsmouth
A household needs to earn about $25,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 6th Ward, Portsmouth home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $44,033, 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 6th Ward, Portsmouth's effective rate of 1.07%, 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 3 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 6th Ward, Portsmouth
6th Ward, Portsmouth runs younger than the country, and households here run smaller than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 6th Ward, Portsmouth.
Who works in 6th Ward, Portsmouth, and how
Work in 6th Ward, Portsmouth centers on health care & social and retail trade. Unemployment runs well above the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 90%
- Work from home 7%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in 6th Ward, Portsmouth
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 6th Ward, Portsmouth.
What the weather is like in 6th Ward, Portsmouth, month by month
6th Ward, Portsmouth sees roughly 56 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 89 degrees. January highs sit near 46, with lows near 25. The comfortable stretch runs April through June and August through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 46° | 34° | 25° |
| April | 70° | 55° | 42° |
| July | 89° | 76° | 67° |
| October | 73° | 58° | 47° |
Flying in and out of 6th Ward, Portsmouth
The nearest airport, Tri-State/Milton J Ferguson Field, is about 33 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is John Glenn Columbus International, about 85 miles away.
The best schools in and around 6th Ward, Portsmouth
Schools across 6th Ward, Portsmouth average a C−, better than 29% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Wheelersburg Elementary SchoolA · 65% proficient
- Clay Elementary SchoolA− · 57% proficient
- Minford Primary Elementary SchoolB+ · 53% proficient
Top middle schools
- Wheelersburg Middle SchoolA · 60% proficient
- Minford Middle SchoolB+ · 48% proficient
- Clay Middle SchoolC · 33% proficient
Top high schools
- Wheelersburg High SchoolA− · 65% proficient
- Minford High SchoolB− · 45% proficient
- Clay High SchoolB− · 44% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 6th Ward, Portsmouth school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
6th Ward, Portsmouth 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 6th Ward, Portsmouth against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in 6th Ward, Portsmouth
Is 6th Ward, Portsmouth a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 6th Ward, Portsmouth ranks 5,450th of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on cheap car insurance, affordable childcare, and tree cover, and lowest on biking and health outcomes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 6th Ward, Portsmouth expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $91,235. The overall cost of living runs about 25% below the national average. Set against a $44,033 median income, cost of living beats 24% of neighborhoods.
Is 6th Ward, Portsmouth safe?
Yes, 6th Ward, Portsmouth is safer than 61% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $357 per resident a year.
Compare 6th Ward, Portsmouth with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 6th Ward, Portsmouth. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 6th Ward, Portsmouth 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.
6th Ward, Portsmouth detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 6th Ward, Portsmouth: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 6th Ward, Portsmouth: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 6th Ward, Portsmouth: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 6th Ward, Portsmouth: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
6th Ward, Portsmouth 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.