Best PlacesDowntown Cleveland, Cleveland, OH Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Downtown Cleveland, Cleveland, 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.
Downtown Cleveland, Cleveland ranks 3,493rd of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on walkability by a wide margin, and crime is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Downtown Cleveland, Cleveland
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.
Downtown Cleveland, Cleveland's strengths and weaknesses
Where Downtown Cleveland, Cleveland ranks high
- WalkabilityBetter than 96% of neighborhoods
- TransitBetter than 96% of neighborhoods
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 93% of neighborhoods
- Disaster safetyBetter than 93% of neighborhoods
- Short commute17.1 minutes each way, better than 93% of neighborhoods
Where Downtown Cleveland, Cleveland ranks low
- Crime safetyBetter than only 3% of neighborhoods
- Tree shadeBetter than only 6% of neighborhoods
- Low vacancyBetter than only 7% of neighborhoods
- QuietBetter than only 9% of neighborhoods
- Low property taxBetter than only 13% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in Downtown Cleveland, Cleveland
A household needs to earn about $47,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Downtown Cleveland, Cleveland home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $52,860, 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 Downtown Cleveland, Cleveland's effective rate of 1.60%, 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 3 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Downtown Cleveland, Cleveland
Downtown Cleveland, Cleveland 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 Downtown Cleveland, Cleveland.
Who works in Downtown Cleveland, Cleveland, and how
Work in Downtown Cleveland, Cleveland centers on professional & technical and health care & social. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 38%
- Work from home 22%
- Transit, walk, or bike 40%
Life in Downtown Cleveland, Cleveland
Downtown Cleveland, Cleveland has more restaurants and bars per resident than 96% of neighborhoods and more parkland per resident than 96% of neighborhoods. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Downtown Cleveland, Cleveland and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Downtown Cleveland, Cleveland, month by month
Downtown Cleveland, Cleveland sees roughly 73 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 84 degrees. January highs sit near 39, with lows near 25. The comfortable stretch runs May, June, and August through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 39° | 31° | 25° |
| April | 60° | 50° | 41° |
| July | 84° | 76° | 69° |
| October | 68° | 59° | 51° |
Flying in and out of Downtown Cleveland, Cleveland
Cleveland-Hopkins International sits about 11 miles away. It is a medium hub and boarded 4.9 million passengers in 2025, with 72 nonstop destinations.
The best schools in and around Downtown Cleveland, Cleveland
Schools across Downtown Cleveland, Cleveland average a C, better than 36% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Campus International SchoolB− · 41% proficient
- Paul L Dunbar Elementary SchoolD− · 13% proficient
- Joseph M Gallagher SchoolF · 9% proficient
Top high schools
- Cleveland High School For The Digital ArtsC− · 29% proficient
- Mc^2 Stem High SchoolD+ · 24% proficient
- Campus International High SchoolD− · 16% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Downtown Cleveland, Cleveland school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Downtown Cleveland, Cleveland 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 Downtown Cleveland, Cleveland against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in Downtown Cleveland, Cleveland
Is Downtown Cleveland, Cleveland a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Downtown Cleveland, Cleveland ranks 3,493rd of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on walkability, transit, and a stable housing market, and lowest on crime and tree cover. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Downtown Cleveland, Cleveland expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $162,774. The overall cost of living runs about 7% below the national average. Set against a $52,860 median income, cost of living beats 31% of neighborhoods.
Is Downtown Cleveland, Cleveland safe?
Downtown Cleveland, Cleveland is safer than 3% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $993 per resident a year.
Compare Downtown Cleveland, Cleveland with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Downtown Cleveland, Cleveland. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Downtown Cleveland, Cleveland 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.
Downtown Cleveland, Cleveland detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Downtown Cleveland, Cleveland: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Downtown Cleveland, Cleveland: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Downtown Cleveland, Cleveland: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Downtown Cleveland, Cleveland: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Downtown Cleveland, Cleveland 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.