Best PlacesClark County, IN Best Neighborhoods

2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026

Every neighborhood in Clark County, 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.

See the map of best neighborhoods

Clark County ranks 869th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It does not top any single list, but it lands above the national middle on transit and a strong job market. The weaker spots are the weather, noise, and taxes.

#869
of 3,144 counties
BestNeighborhood rank
Defaults weight crime safety, affordability, schools, and weather highest: the things hardest to change after a move
N/A
of 3,144 counties
Your rank
Set your priorities to see your rank

The best neighborhoods in Clark County

Map of the best neighborhoods in the Clark County area, with better matches in green and worse matches in red
Click the map to explore
National median
Worse match Better match
Colorblind friendly off
Popular priorities:

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.

The best areas in Clark County

The parts of Clark County, ranked by the BestNeighborhood standard score across every neighborhood, highest scoring first. Each note says how that part differs from the rest of the county.

#1

Memphis, Henryville & Borden

Local pay stretches further, more households have young kids, and incomes run higher.

WorseBetter
74th nationally
#2

Charlestown

It is quieter, though biking is worse.

WorseBetter
65th nationally
#3

Sellersburg

Fewer adults hold degrees.

WorseBetter
52nd nationally
#4

Clarksville

Crime runs higher and fewer residents vote.

WorseBetter
34th nationally
#5

Jeffersonville

Streets are more walkable, though prices have run up more.

WorseBetter
31st nationally

Clark County shows why a single number is not enough. Some neighborhoods score in the bottom 4% of the country and others in the top 10%. Pick the area first, then the home.


Clark County's strengths and weaknesses

Top 10%Transit

Clark County lands in the middle because its strengths and weaknesses roughly balance. Transit, a strong job market, and few empty homes carry most of that.

The one real hole is the weather, near the bottom of the country. Noise and taxes also cost it ground. The detail is below, and the map is where it turns into a choice of neighborhood rather than just a place.

Each measure against the national median. Bars to the right beat the median; bars to the left fall short. Percentiles compare Clark County with other counties.

Where Clark County ranks high

  • TransitBetter than 91% of counties
  • Local economyBetter than 88% of counties
  • Low vacancyBetter than 87% of counties
  • Cheap car insuranceBetter than 86% of counties
  • Cell coverageBetter than 85% of counties

Where Clark County ranks low

  • Nice weatherabout 56 pleasant days a year, better than only 3% of counties
  • QuietBetter than only 7% of counties
  • Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 8% of counties
  • Cheap childcare$898 a month, better than only 28% of counties
  • Air qualityBetter than only 30% of counties

What it costs to buy a home in Clark County

A household needs to earn about $59,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Clark County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $80,781, so a typical household can afford the median home outright.

Income to buy the median home
$59,000
a year, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate
Estimated monthly payment
$1,382
principal, interest, tax, and insurance on a $228,875 home
Median rent
$1,151
a month, across all home sizes

Where the monthly payment goes

Principal & interest$1,167
Property tax$139
Homeowners insurance$76

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 Clark County's effective rate of 0.73%, 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.

Cumulative cost of renting versus owning the median home, first 10 years. Illustrative estimate.

Who lives in Clark County

Clark County's age mix sits close to the national median.

Median age
41
about the U.S. median of 41
Residents 65 and older
17%
versus 18% nationally
Average household
2.4
below the U.S. average of 2.6

Residents by age

Under 1821%
18 to 3422%
35 to 4920%
50 to 6420%
65 and older17%

Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Clark County.


Who works in Clark County, and how

Work in Clark County centers on manufacturing and health care & social. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.

Work from home
12%
below the national average
Unemployment
3.6%
below the national average
Job growth
+6.0%
/y 2019-2023, faster than the national pace

Largest industries

Manufacturing16%
Health care & social13%
Retail trade10%
Hospitality & food9%
Transportation & warehousing7%

How people get to work

  • Drive or carpool 84%
  • Work from home 12%
  • Transit, walk, or bike 4%

Life in Clark County

Clark County has more restaurants and bars per resident than 96% of counties and more parkland per resident than 75% of counties. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Clark County and thins out in others, which the map shows.

Places to eat and drink
4,508
restaurants, bars, and fast food, about 372.3 per 10,000 residents, more than 96% of counties
Coffee shops
471
about 38.9 per 10,000 residents, more than 96% of counties
Parkland
879 acres
about 7.3 acres per 1,000 residents, more than 75% of counties
Open past 10pm
~128
food and drink venues open late, about 10.5 per 10,000 residents, more than 81% of counties

Is Clark County growing, and who is moving in?

Clark County has grown about 12% over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from the rest of the Louisville, KY metro.

Population growth
+12%
over the decade, vs about 6% nationally
Population
127,479
up from 114,035
Population by year. Source: U.S. Census Population Estimates Program.

Where new residents come from

The rest of the Louisville, KY metro2,568 / yr
Indianapolis, IN217 / yr
Columbus, IN178 / yr
Lexington, KY169 / yr
St Louis, MO151 / yr

Where people leaving Clark County go

The rest of the Louisville, KY metro2,908 / yr
Chicago, IL343 / yr
Indianapolis, IN336 / yr
Houston, TX285 / yr
Cincinnati, OH245 / yr

Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.


What the weather is like in Clark County, month by month

Clark County sees roughly 56 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 90 degrees. January highs sit near 46, with lows near 26. The comfortable stretch runs April, May, September, and October.

Average daily high, mean, and low in degrees Fahrenheit, NOAA station data 2016 to 2025.
Show the monthly temperatures
MonthAvg highAvgAvg low
January46°36°26°
April71°58°45°
July90°79°69°
October74°60°48°

Flying in and out of Clark County

The nearest airport, Louisville Muhammad Ali International, is about 14 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International, about 74 miles away.

Nearest airport
SDF
Louisville Muhammad Ali International, about 14 miles
Airport size
Small hub
69th-busiest in the US, 86 nonstop destinations
Average drive
20 min
from the area, with no traffic

The best schools in and around Clark County

Schools across Clark County average a C+, better than 46% of counties.

Top elementary schools

Top middle schools

Top high schools

Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Clark County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.


Clark 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 Clark County against the other 3,143 counties.


Who Clark County suits

Families

Schools land around the 46th percentile and crime safety beats 68%.

See the families priority ↑

Remote workers

Cost of living against local pay beats 82% of counties, internet is fast and widely advertised, and 12% already work from home.

See the remote-work priority ↑

Retirees

Health care access beats 69%.

See the retirees priority ↑


Common questions about living in Clark County

Is Clark County a good place to live?

Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Clark County ranks 869th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on transit, a strong job market, and few empty homes, and lowest on the weather and noise. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.

Is Clark County expensive to live in?

The median home is worth $228,875. The overall cost of living runs about 15% below the national average. Set against a $80,781 median income, cost of living beats 82% of counties.

Is Clark County safe?

Yes, Clark County is safer than 68% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $283 per resident a year.

What is the weather like in Clark County?

July highs average about 90 degrees, and January highs near 46 with lows near 26. That works out to about 56 pleasant days a year, more than 3% of counties.

What are the best neighborhoods in Clark County?

Using the default rankings, the highest-scoring areas are Memphis, Henryville & Borden, Charlestown, and Sellersburg. The ranked list and the re-weightable map above let you re-sort them for your own priorities.

Is Clark County good for families?

Schools beat 46% of counties, crime safety beats 68%, and childcare runs $898 a month.

Is Clark County good for remote workers?

Cost of living against local pay beats 82% of counties, and the fastest advertised internet here beats 74% of counties. About 12% of workers already work from home.


Compare Clark County with other counties


Sources and methodology

Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Clark County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Clark 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.

Clark County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:

  1. Walk Grade for Clark County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
  2. Noise in Clark County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
  3. Conservative vs liberal map of Clark County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
  4. Mobile and cell coverage in Clark County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.

Clark County detail on related sites:

  1. CrimeGrade: neighborhood crime rates behind the crime safety score.
  2. ISPreports.org: provider by provider internet availability and advertised speeds.
  3. CoverageWatch: the car insurance premiums behind the cheap car insurance score.

Federal and public data:

  1. 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.
  2. U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program: population growth and net migration behind the population-change section.
  3. NOAA Global Surface Summary of the Day: the daily station record behind the monthly temperatures and the pleasant-day count.
  4. FAA Passenger Boarding Data: airport size and annual passenger counts.
  5. Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey: the 30-year fixed rate used in the cost-to-buy estimate.
  6. FBI Crime Data Explorer: reported offenses behind the tangible crime cost estimate.
  7. U.S. EPA Air Quality System: five year average air quality index.
  8. FEMA National Risk Index: expected annual loss from natural hazards.
  9. CDC PLACES: disease burden, preventable risk, and barriers to care.
  10. National Center for Education Statistics: school enrollment and assessment inputs behind the school grade.
  11. FCC National Broadband Map: internet and wireless availability.
  12. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: employment and job growth behind the local economy score.
  13. Religious activity uses a proprietary religious signal measurement.