Best PlacesClifton, Louisville, KY Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Clifton, Louisville, 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.
Clifton, Louisville ranks 4,068th of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. The weather pulls hardest against it, while it scores best on short commutes.
The best neighborhoods in Clifton, 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.
Clifton, Louisville's strengths and weaknesses
Where Clifton, Louisville ranks high
- Short commute19.2 minutes each way, better than 84% of neighborhoods
- Tree shadeBetter than 80% of neighborhoods
- Healthcare accessBetter than 77% of neighborhoods
- TransitBetter than 71% of neighborhoods
- Cheap childcare$939 a month, better than 70% of neighborhoods
Where Clifton, Louisville ranks low
- Nice weatherabout 56 pleasant days a year, better than only 3% of neighborhoods
- QuietBetter than only 4% of neighborhoods
- Low vacancyBetter than only 14% of neighborhoods
- Big-city accessBetter than only 18% of neighborhoods
- Cell coverageBetter than only 19% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in Clifton, Louisville
A household needs to earn about $67,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Clifton, Louisville home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $73,803, 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 Clifton, Louisville's effective rate of 0.94%, 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 8 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Clifton, Louisville
Clifton, Louisville's age mix sits close to the national median, 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, Louisville.
Who works in Clifton, Louisville, and how
Work in Clifton, Louisville centers on professional & technical and health care & social. Unemployment is low, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 78%
- Work from home 18%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in Clifton, Louisville
Clifton, Louisville has more restaurants and bars per resident than 91% of neighborhoods and more late-night spots per resident than 90% of neighborhoods. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Clifton, Louisville and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Clifton, Louisville, month by month
Clifton, Louisville 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.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 46° | 36° | 26° |
| April | 71° | 58° | 45° |
| July | 90° | 79° | 69° |
| October | 74° | 60° | 48° |
Flying in and out of Clifton, 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 78 miles away.
The best schools in and around Clifton, Louisville
Schools across Clifton, Louisville average a D+, better than 23% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Breckinridge-franklin ElementaryF · 9% proficient
Top middle schools
- Meyzeek MiddleB+ · 52% proficient
- Highland MiddleD · 22% proficient
Top high schools
- Atherton HighB− · 45% proficient
- Waggener HighD− · 15% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Clifton, Louisville school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Clifton, 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 Clifton, Louisville against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in Clifton, Louisville
Is Clifton, Louisville a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Clifton, Louisville ranks 4,068th of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on short commutes, tree cover, and health care access, 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 Clifton, Louisville expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $251,356. The overall cost of living runs about 13% below the national average. Set against a $73,803 median income, cost of living beats 59% of neighborhoods.
Is Clifton, Louisville safe?
Clifton, Louisville is safer than 25% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $587 per resident a year.
Compare Clifton, Louisville with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Clifton, Louisville. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Clifton, 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.
Clifton, Louisville detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Clifton, Louisville: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Clifton, Louisville: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Clifton, Louisville: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Clifton, Louisville: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Clifton, 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.