Best PlacesHancock County, IN Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Hancock 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.
Hancock County ranks 180th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on few empty homes by a wide margin, and the weather ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Hancock 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 Hancock County
The parts of Hancock 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.
New Palestine
More adults hold degrees, crime runs lower, and it is quieter.
McCordsville
More households have young kids and health outcomes score higher.
Fortville
Heat risk is lower and commutes are shorter.
Greenfield
Streets are more walkable and fewer homes sit empty.
Scores across Hancock County run from about the 36th to the 96th percentile nationally. The map is where that becomes a choice of area.
Hancock County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Hancock County ranks high
- Low vacancyBetter than 99% of counties
- Internet speedBetter than 98% of counties
- Healthcare accessBetter than 97% of counties
- Local economyBetter than 97% of counties
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 96% of counties
Where Hancock County ranks low
- Nice weatherabout 61 pleasant days a year, better than only 7% of counties
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 10% of counties
- Air qualityBetter than only 13% of counties
- Cheap childcare$1,045 a month, better than only 14% of counties
- QuietBetter than only 16% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Hancock County
A household needs to earn about $70,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Hancock County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $96,514, 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 Hancock County's effective rate of 0.69%, 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 7 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Hancock County
Hancock 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 Hancock County.
Who works in Hancock County, and how
Work in Hancock County centers on health care & social and manufacturing. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 82%
- Work from home 15%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in Hancock County
Hancock County has fewer places to eat and drink per resident than most counties. That concentrates in some parts of Hancock County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Hancock County growing, and who is moving in?
Hancock County has grown about 24% over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from the rest of the Indianapolis, IN metro.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Hancock County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Hancock County, month by month
Hancock County sees roughly 61 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 88 degrees. January highs sit near 41, with lows near 23. The comfortable stretch runs April through June and August through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 41° | 32° | 23° |
| April | 69° | 55° | 42° |
| July | 88° | 77° | 66° |
| October | 73° | 58° | 46° |
Flying in and out of Hancock County
Indianapolis International sits about 26 miles away. It is a medium hub and boarded 5.2 million passengers in 2025, with 92 nonstop destinations.
The best schools in and around Hancock County
Schools across Hancock County average a B, better than 76% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Eden Elementary SchoolA · 65% proficient
- New Palestine Elementary SchoolA− · 60% proficient
- Brandywine Elementary SchoolA− · 57% proficient
Top middle schools
- New Palestine Jr High SchoolA · 61% proficient
- New Palestine Intermediate SchoolA− · 53% proficient
- Maxwell Intermediate SchoolB+ · 52% proficient
Top high schools
- Eastern Hancock High SchoolB+ · 58% proficient
- Mt Vernon High SchoolB+ · 54% proficient
- New Palestine High SchoolB+ · 51% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Hancock County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Hancock 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 Hancock County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who Hancock County suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 96% of counties, internet is fast and widely advertised, and 15% already work from home.
Common questions about living in Hancock County
Is Hancock County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Hancock County ranks 180th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on few empty homes, fast internet, and health care access, 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 Hancock County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $272,943. The overall cost of living runs about 16% below the national average. Set against a $96,514 median income, cost of living beats 96% of counties.
Is Hancock County safe?
Yes, Hancock County is safer than 93% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $194 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Hancock County?
July highs average about 88 degrees, and January highs near 41 with lows near 23. That works out to about 61 pleasant days a year, more than 7% of counties.
What are the best neighborhoods in Hancock County?
Using the default rankings, the highest-scoring areas are New Palestine, McCordsville, and Fortville. The ranked list and the re-weightable map above let you re-sort them for your own priorities.
Compare Hancock County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Hancock County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Hancock 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.
Hancock County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Hancock County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Hancock County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Hancock County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Hancock County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Hancock 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.