Best PlacesBartholomew County, IN Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Bartholomew County, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Local pay runs high here, and housing takes the biggest bite out of it. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Bartholomew County ranks 345th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on fast internet by a wide margin, and noise is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Bartholomew County
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.
Bartholomew County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Bartholomew County ranks high
- Internet speedBetter than 96% of counties
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 93% of counties
- Crime safetyBetter than 92% of counties
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 92% of counties
- BikingBetter than 88% of counties
Where Bartholomew County ranks low
- QuietBetter than only 6% of counties
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 12% of counties
- Nice weatherabout 67 pleasant days a year, better than only 16% of counties
- Cheap childcare$971 a month, better than only 19% of counties
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 32% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Bartholomew County
A household needs to earn about $63,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Bartholomew County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $89,246, 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 Bartholomew County's effective rate of 0.70%, 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 7 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Bartholomew County
Bartholomew County's age mix sits close to the national median.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Bartholomew County.
Who works in Bartholomew County, and how
Work in Bartholomew County centers on manufacturing and health care & social. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 82%
- Work from home 13%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in Bartholomew County
Bartholomew County has more late-night spots per resident than 78% of counties. That concentrates in some parts of Bartholomew County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Bartholomew County growing, and who is moving in?
Bartholomew County has grown about 5% over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Indianapolis, IN.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Bartholomew County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Bartholomew County, month by month
Bartholomew County sees roughly 67 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 84 degrees. January highs sit near 38, with lows near 24. The comfortable stretch runs April through June and August through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 38° | 31° | 24° |
| April | 64° | 55° | 43° |
| July | 84° | 77° | 66° |
| October | 68° | 58° | 46° |
Flying in and out of Bartholomew County
Indianapolis International sits about 40 miles away. It is a medium hub and boarded 5.2 million passengers in 2025, with 92 nonstop destinations.
The best schools in and around Bartholomew County
Schools across Bartholomew County average a C+, better than 54% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Southside Elementary SchoolA− · 62% proficient
- Csa Lincoln CampusA− · 57% proficient
- Parkside Elementary SchoolB · 47% proficient
Top middle schools
- Northside Middle SchoolB− · 41% proficient
- Central Middle SchoolC · 34% proficient
- Edinburgh Comm Middle SchoolD+ · 25% proficient
Top high schools
- Columbus North High SchoolB · 49% proficient
- Columbus East High SchoolB− · 43% proficient
- Edinburgh Community High SchoolC · 33% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Bartholomew County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Bartholomew County 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 Bartholomew County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who Bartholomew County suits
Families
Schools land around the 54th percentile and crime safety beats 92%.
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 92% of counties, internet is fast and widely advertised, and 13% already work from home.
Common questions about living in Bartholomew County
Is Bartholomew County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Bartholomew County ranks 345th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on fast internet, cheap car insurance, and low crime, and lowest on noise and taxes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Bartholomew County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $246,126. The overall cost of living runs about 15% below the national average. Set against a $89,246 median income, cost of living beats 92% of counties.
Is Bartholomew County safe?
Yes, Bartholomew County is safer than 92% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $209 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Bartholomew County?
July highs average about 84 degrees, and January highs near 38 with lows near 24. That works out to about 67 pleasant days a year, more than 16% of counties.
Is Bartholomew County good for families?
Schools beat 54% of counties, crime safety beats 92%, and childcare runs $971 a month.
Compare Bartholomew County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Bartholomew County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Bartholomew County 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.
Bartholomew County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Bartholomew County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Bartholomew County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Bartholomew County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Bartholomew County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Bartholomew County 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.
- U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program: population growth and net migration behind the population-change section.
- 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.