Best PlacesHamilton County, OH Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Hamilton County, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. The averages hide a wide spread here, so the area matters as much as the address. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Hamilton County ranks 573rd of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. Paychecks stretch further here than almost anywhere else: the median household brings in $85,669, everyday costs sit below the national average, and an educated workforce ranks near the top of the country. The main drawbacks are the weather, childcare costs, and property taxes.
The best neighborhoods in Hamilton 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 Hamilton County
The parts of Hamilton 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.
Newtown
Local pay stretches further, incomes run higher, and more adults hold degrees.
Loveland, Blue Ash & Montgomery
Schools score higher and crime runs lower.
Madeira, Silverton & Deer Park
Health care is easier to reach, though homes cost more.
Harrison, White Oak & North College Hill
Transit reaches fewer jobs and tree cover is thinner.
Forest Park, Finneytown & Springdale
Fewer homes sit empty, though streets are more car-dependent.
Cheviot, Cleves & Miami Heights
More households have young kids and it is quieter.
Cincinnati
Fewer residents vote and health outcomes score lower.
Norwood & St. Bernard
Biking is better, though prices have run up more.
Hamilton County shows why a single number is not enough. Some neighborhoods score in the bottom 1% of the country and others in the top 1%. Pick the area first, then the home.
Hamilton County's strengths and weaknesses
Hamilton County ranks where it does because the parts of life that are hardest to change mostly work here. Transit is the standout, in the top 2% of counties. Cell coverage and walkability follow.
The drawbacks are real but narrow. The weather, childcare costs, and property taxes hold the score down. The measures below break that down, and the map shows how much of it holds street by street.
Where Hamilton County ranks high
- TransitBetter than 98% of counties
- Cell coverageBetter than 96% of counties
- WalkabilityBetter than 92% of counties
- Educational attainmentBetter than 91% of counties
- BikingBetter than 89% of counties
Where Hamilton County ranks low
- Nice weatherabout 59 pleasant days a year, better than only 6% of counties
- Cheap childcare$1,273 a month, better than only 8% of counties
- Low property taxBetter than only 8% of counties
- QuietBetter than only 10% of counties
- Air qualityBetter than only 18% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Hamilton County
A household needs to earn about $81,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Hamilton County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $85,669, 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 Hamilton County's effective rate of 1.47%, 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 10 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Hamilton County
Hamilton County'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 Hamilton County.
Who works in Hamilton County, and how
Work in Hamilton County centers on health care & social and manufacturing. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 77%
- Work from home 15%
- Transit, walk, or bike 8%
Life in Hamilton County
Hamilton County has more restaurants and bars per resident than 78% of counties and more parkland per resident than 79% of counties. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Hamilton County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Hamilton County growing, and who is moving in?
Hamilton County has grown about 4% over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from the rest of the Cincinnati, OH metro.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Hamilton County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Hamilton County, month by month
Hamilton County sees roughly 59 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 Hamilton County
Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International sits about 12 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 Hamilton County
Schools across Hamilton County average a C+, better than 60% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Montgomery Elementary SchoolA+ · 94% proficient
- Hilltop Elementary SchoolA+ · 94% proficient
- Terrace Park Elementary SchoolA+ · 92% proficient
Top middle schools
- Mariemont Junior High SchoolA+ · 91% proficient
- Indian Hill Middle SchoolA+ · 88% proficient
- Sycamore Junior High SchoolA+ · 86% proficient
Top high schools
- Mariemont High SchoolA+ · 92% proficient
- Madeira High SchoolA+ · 85% proficient
- Walnut Hills High SchoolA+ · 85% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Hamilton County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Hamilton 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 Hamilton County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who Hamilton County suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 88% of counties, internet is fast and widely advertised, and 15% already work from home.
Common questions about living in Hamilton County
Is Hamilton County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Hamilton County ranks 573rd of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on transit, cell coverage, and walkability, and lowest on the weather and childcare costs. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Hamilton County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $283,613. The overall cost of living runs about 12% below the national average. Set against a $85,669 median income, cost of living beats 88% of counties.
Is Hamilton County safe?
Hamilton County is safer than 22% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $438 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Hamilton County?
July highs average about 89 degrees, and January highs near 44 with lows near 23. That works out to about 59 pleasant days a year, more than 6% of counties.
What are the best neighborhoods in Hamilton County?
Using the default rankings, the highest-scoring areas are Newtown, Loveland, Blue Ash & Montgomery, and Madeira, Silverton & Deer Park. The ranked list and the re-weightable map above let you re-sort them for your own priorities.
Is Hamilton County good for families?
Schools beat 60% of counties, crime safety beats 22%, and childcare runs $1,273 a month.
Is Hamilton County good for remote workers?
Cost of living against local pay beats 88% of counties, and the fastest advertised internet here beats 64% of counties. About 15% of workers already work from home.
Compare Hamilton County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Hamilton County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Hamilton 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.
Hamilton County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Hamilton County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Hamilton County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Hamilton County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Hamilton County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Hamilton 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.