Best PlacesEconomy, IN Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Economy, 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.
Economy ranks 12,660th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores best on what local pay buys, and the weather ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Economy
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.
Economy's strengths and weaknesses
Where Economy ranks high
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 90% of towns
- Local economyBetter than 89% of towns
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 88% of towns
- State infrastructureBetter than 80% of towns
- Household income$91,427 median, better than 78% of towns
Where Economy ranks low
- Nice weatherabout 63 pleasant days a year, better than only 13% of towns
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 22% of towns
- Internet speedBetter than only 26% of towns
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 36% of towns
- Health outlookBetter than only 38% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Economy
A household needs to earn about $51,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Economy home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $91,427, 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 Economy's effective rate of 0.88%, 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 Economy
Economy runs older than the country, though fewer residents are over 65 than the national share, and households here run larger than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Economy.
Who works in Economy, and how
Work in Economy centers on manufacturing and health care & social. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 87%
- Work from home 11%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in Economy
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Economy.
What the weather is like in Economy, month by month
Economy sees roughly 63 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 87 degrees. January highs sit near 39, with lows near 22. The comfortable stretch runs May, June, and August through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 39° | 30° | 22° |
| April | 66° | 53° | 41° |
| July | 87° | 76° | 65° |
| October | 71° | 58° | 47° |
Flying in and out of Economy
The nearest airport, James M Cox Dayton International, is about 47 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Indianapolis International, about 66 miles away.
The best schools in and around Economy
Schools across Economy average a C+, better than 52% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Hagerstown Elementary SchoolB · 49% proficient
- Northeastern Elementary SchoolB− · 40% proficient
- Union Elementary SchoolD+ · 22% proficient
Top middle schools
- Northeastern Middle SchoolC+ · 38% proficient
Top high schools
- Hagerstown Jr-sr High SchoolC+ · 39% proficient
- Northeastern High SchoolC− · 28% proficient
- Union Junior & High SchoolD · 18% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Economy school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Economy 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 Economy against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Economy
Is Economy a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Economy ranks 12,660th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on what local pay buys, a strong job market, and cheap car insurance, and lowest on the weather and taxes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Economy expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $192,390. The overall cost of living runs about 22% below the national average. Set against a $91,427 median income, cost of living beats 90% of towns.
Is Economy safe?
Yes, Economy is safer than 68% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $221 per resident a year.
Compare Economy with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Economy. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Economy 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.
Economy detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Economy: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Economy: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Economy: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Economy: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Economy 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.