Best PlacesClifton, Cincinnati, OH Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Clifton, Cincinnati, 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.
Clifton, Cincinnati ranks 2,666th of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on tree cover by a wide margin, and the weather ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Clifton, Cincinnati
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.
Clifton, Cincinnati's strengths and weaknesses
Where Clifton, Cincinnati ranks high
- Tree shadeBetter than 94% of neighborhoods
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 93% of neighborhoods
- Educational attainmentBetter than 92% of neighborhoods
- Heat safetyBetter than 87% of neighborhoods
- TransitBetter than 85% of neighborhoods
Where Clifton, Cincinnati ranks low
- Nice weatherabout 62 pleasant days a year, better than only 12% of neighborhoods
- School gradeD, better than only 14% of neighborhoods
- Low property taxBetter than only 15% of neighborhoods
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 16% of neighborhoods
- Crime safetyBetter than only 20% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in Clifton, Cincinnati
A household needs to earn about $119,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Clifton, Cincinnati home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $78,910, 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 Clifton, Cincinnati's effective rate of 1.53%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices and rents, renting stays cheaper than buying across the first 10 years here, so the case for buying rests on staying much longer or on prices rising faster than assumed. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Clifton, Cincinnati
Clifton, Cincinnati 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 Clifton, Cincinnati.
Who works in Clifton, Cincinnati, and how
Work in Clifton, Cincinnati centers on education and health care & social. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 60%
- Work from home 19%
- Transit, walk, or bike 22%
Life in Clifton, Cincinnati
Clifton, Cincinnati has more parkland per resident than 93% of neighborhoods. That concentrates in some parts of Clifton, Cincinnati and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Clifton, Cincinnati, month by month
Clifton, Cincinnati sees roughly 62 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 89 degrees. January highs sit near 44, with lows near 23. The comfortable stretch runs May, June, and August through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 44° | 33° | 23° |
| April | 69° | 54° | 41° |
| July | 89° | 76° | 65° |
| October | 72° | 57° | 45° |
Flying in and out of Clifton, Cincinnati
Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International sits about 10 miles away. It is a medium hub and boarded 4.4 million passengers in 2025, with 99 nonstop destinations.
The best schools in and around Clifton, Cincinnati
Schools across Clifton, Cincinnati average a D, better than 14% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Clifton Area Neighborhood SchoolC · 31% proficient
- Academy Of World Languages SchoolD · 18% proficient
Top high schools
- Hughes Stem High SchoolD · 21% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Clifton, Cincinnati school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Clifton, Cincinnati 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 Clifton, Cincinnati against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in Clifton, Cincinnati
Is Clifton, Cincinnati a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Clifton, Cincinnati ranks 2,666th of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on tree cover, cheap car insurance, and an educated workforce, and lowest on the weather and the schools. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Clifton, Cincinnati expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $414,662. The overall cost of living runs about 16% below the national average. Set against a $78,910 median income, cost of living beats 73% of neighborhoods.
Is Clifton, Cincinnati safe?
Clifton, Cincinnati is safer than 20% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $615 per resident a year.
Compare Clifton, Cincinnati with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Clifton, Cincinnati. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Clifton, Cincinnati 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.
Clifton, Cincinnati detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Clifton, Cincinnati: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Clifton, Cincinnati: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Clifton, Cincinnati: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Clifton, Cincinnati: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Clifton, Cincinnati 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.