Best PlacesCentral Business District, Louisville, KY Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Central Business District, Louisville, 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.
Central Business District, Louisville ranks 5,243rd of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on transit by a wide margin, and crime is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Central Business District, Louisville
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.
Central Business District, Louisville's strengths and weaknesses
Where Central Business District, Louisville ranks high
- TransitBetter than 97% of neighborhoods
- Short commute15.9 minutes each way, better than 96% of neighborhoods
- WalkabilityBetter than 92% of neighborhoods
- Cheap childcare$939 a month, better than 70% of neighborhoods
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 67% of neighborhoods
Where Central Business District, Louisville ranks low
- Crime safetyBetter than only 1% of neighborhoods
- Internet speedBetter than only 1% of neighborhoods
- QuietBetter than only 1% of neighborhoods
- Nice weatherabout 55 pleasant days a year, better than only 2% of neighborhoods
- Tree shadeBetter than only 5% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in Central Business District, Louisville
A household needs to earn about $68,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Central Business District, Louisville home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $47,469, so buying stretches a typical household.
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 Central Business District, Louisville's effective rate of 1.29%, 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 9 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Central Business District, Louisville
Central Business District, Louisville 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 Central Business District, Louisville.
Who works in Central Business District, Louisville, and how
Work in Central Business District, Louisville centers on professional & technical and construction. Unemployment is low, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 43%
- Work from home 13%
- Transit, walk, or bike 43%
Life in Central Business District, Louisville
Central Business District, Louisville has more restaurants and bars per resident than 98% of neighborhoods. That concentrates in some parts of Central Business District, Louisville and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Central Business District, Louisville, month by month
Central Business District, Louisville sees roughly 55 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 91 degrees. January highs sit near 47, with lows near 27. The comfortable stretch runs April, May, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 47° | 36° | 27° |
| April | 73° | 59° | 47° |
| July | 91° | 81° | 71° |
| October | 75° | 62° | 51° |
Flying in and out of Central Business District, Louisville
The nearest airport, Louisville Muhammad Ali International, is about 6 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International, about 81 miles away.
The best schools in and around Central Business District, Louisville
Schools across Central Business District, Louisville average a D+, better than 22% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Lincoln Elementary Performing ArtsC− · 30% proficient
- Coleridge-taylor Montessori ElementaryF · 9% proficient
- Breckinridge-franklin ElementaryF · 9% proficient
Top middle schools
- Meyzeek MiddleB+ · 52% proficient
- Westport MiddleD · 23% proficient
- Highland MiddleD · 22% proficient
Top high schools
- Eastern HighB− · 43% proficient
- Ballard HighB− · 42% proficient
- Central High Magnet Career AcademyD · 23% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Central Business District, Louisville school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Central Business District, Louisville 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 Central Business District, Louisville against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in Central Business District, Louisville
Is Central Business District, Louisville a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Central Business District, Louisville ranks 5,243rd of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on transit, short commutes, and walkability, and lowest on crime and internet speeds. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Central Business District, Louisville expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $244,300. The overall cost of living runs about 11% below the national average. Set against a $47,469 median income, cost of living beats 21% of neighborhoods.
Is Central Business District, Louisville safe?
Central Business District, Louisville is safer than 0% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $1,278 per resident a year.
Compare Central Business District, Louisville with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Central Business District, Louisville. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Central Business District, Louisville 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.
Central Business District, Louisville detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Central Business District, Louisville: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Central Business District, Louisville: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Central Business District, Louisville: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Central Business District, Louisville: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Central Business District, Louisville 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.