Best PlacesDeKalb County, IN Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in DeKalb 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.
DeKalb County ranks 1,056th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on cheap car insurance by a wide margin, and noise is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in DeKalb 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.
The best areas in DeKalb County
The parts of DeKalb 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.
Auburn
Biking is better, streets are more walkable, and prices have run up less.
Garrett
Advertised internet is faster, though fewer households have young kids.
Butler
Schools score lower and local pay stretches less far.
Waterloo
Crime runs higher and it is noisier.
Scores across DeKalb County run from about the 20th to the 82nd percentile nationally. The map is where that becomes a choice of area.
DeKalb County's strengths and weaknesses
Where DeKalb County ranks high
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 94% of counties
- Heat safetyBetter than 91% of counties
- Low vacancyBetter than 86% of counties
- Disaster safetyBetter than 85% of counties
- Internet speedBetter than 79% of counties
Where DeKalb County ranks low
- QuietBetter than only 6% of counties
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 7% of counties
- Cheap childcare$890 a month, better than only 29% of counties
- Air qualityBetter than only 31% of counties
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 32% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in DeKalb County
A household needs to earn about $51,000 a year to comfortably buy the median DeKalb County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $73,795, 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 DeKalb County's effective rate of 0.61%, 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 DeKalb County
DeKalb 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 DeKalb County.
Who works in DeKalb County, and how
Work in DeKalb County centers on manufacturing and health care & social. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 92%
- Work from home 5%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in DeKalb County
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across DeKalb County.
Is DeKalb County growing, and who is moving in?
DeKalb County has grown about 4% over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Fort Wayne, IN.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving DeKalb County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in DeKalb County, month by month
DeKalb County sees roughly 78 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 84 degrees. January highs sit near 34, with lows near 22. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 34° | 28° | 22° |
| April | 59° | 48° | 39° |
| July | 84° | 73° | 64° |
| October | 64° | 53° | 45° |
Flying in and out of DeKalb County
The nearest airport, Fort Wayne International, is about 29 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Detroit Metro Wayne County, about 104 miles away.
The best schools in and around DeKalb County
Schools across DeKalb County average a B−, better than 64% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Hicksville Elementary SchoolA+ · 76% proficient
- Edgerton Elementary SchoolA · 67% proficient
- Edon Elementary SchoolA · 63% proficient
Top middle schools
- Leo Elementary SchoolA · 66% proficient
- Dekalb Middle SchoolB− · 42% proficient
- Garrett Middle SchoolC · 32% proficient
Top high schools
- Hicksville High SchoolA+ · 81% proficient
- Edgerton High SchoolA− · 65% proficient
- Edon High SchoolA− · 65% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every DeKalb County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
DeKalb 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 DeKalb County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who DeKalb County suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 71% of counties, internet is fast and widely advertised, and 5% already work from home.
Common questions about living in DeKalb County
Is DeKalb County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, DeKalb County ranks 1,056th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on cheap car insurance, heat safety, and few empty homes, 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 DeKalb County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $199,325. The overall cost of living runs about 17% below the national average. Set against a $73,795 median income, cost of living beats 71% of counties.
Is DeKalb County safe?
Yes, DeKalb County is safer than 70% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $267 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in DeKalb County?
July highs average about 84 degrees, and January highs near 34 with lows near 22. That works out to about 78 pleasant days a year, more than 35% of counties.
What are the best neighborhoods in DeKalb County?
Using the default rankings, the highest-scoring areas are Auburn, Garrett, and Butler. The ranked list and the re-weightable map above let you re-sort them for your own priorities.
Compare DeKalb County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to DeKalb County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in DeKalb 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.
DeKalb County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for DeKalb County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in DeKalb County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of DeKalb County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in DeKalb County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
DeKalb 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.