Best PlacesHendricks County, IN Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Hendricks 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.
Hendricks County ranks 90th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. Paychecks stretch further here than almost anywhere else: the median household brings in $107,704, everyday costs sit below the national average, and a strong job market ranks near the top of the country. The main drawbacks are air quality, the weather, and noise.
The best neighborhoods in Hendricks 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 Hendricks County
The parts of Hendricks 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.
Brownsburg
More households have young kids, more adults hold degrees, and schools score higher.
Indianapolis
Local pay stretches further and more residents vote.
Plainfield
Biking is better and crime runs lower.
Pittsboro
Prices have run up less and it is quieter.
Avon
Fewer homes sit empty, though tree cover is thinner.
Danville
Scores close to Avon, except that commutes are longer here.
Clayton
Incomes run lower and health outcomes score lower.
Hendricks County shows why a single number is not enough. Some neighborhoods score in the bottom 11% of the country and others in the top 1%. Pick the area first, then the home.
Hendricks County's strengths and weaknesses
Hendricks County ranks where it does because the parts of life that are hardest to change mostly work here. Few empty homes is the standout, in the top 1% of counties. What local pay buys and a strong job market follow.
The one real hole is air quality, near the bottom of the country. The weather and noise also cost it ground. The measures below break that down, and the map shows how much of it holds street by street.
Where Hendricks County ranks high
- Low vacancyBetter than 99% of counties
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 98% of counties
- Local economyBetter than 97% of counties
- Healthcare accessBetter than 95% of counties
- Household income$107,704 median, better than 95% of counties
Where Hendricks County ranks low
- Air qualityBetter than only 2% of counties
- Nice weatherabout 56 pleasant days a year, better than only 3% of counties
- QuietBetter than only 9% of counties
- Cheap childcare$1,131 a month, better than only 10% of counties
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 12% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Hendricks County
A household needs to earn about $82,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Hendricks County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $107,704, 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 Hendricks County's effective rate of 0.81%, 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 Hendricks County
Hendricks 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 Hendricks County.
Who works in Hendricks County, and how
Work in Hendricks 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 83%
- Work from home 15%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in Hendricks County
Hendricks County has fewer places to eat and drink per resident than most counties and more late-night spots per resident than 72% of counties. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Hendricks County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Hendricks County growing, and who is moving in?
Hendricks County has grown about 22% 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 Hendricks County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Hendricks County, month by month
Hendricks County sees roughly 56 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 87 degrees. January highs sit near 40, 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 | 40° | 30° | 22° |
| April | 67° | 54° | 42° |
| July | 87° | 77° | 67° |
| October | 70° | 58° | 47° |
Flying in and out of Hendricks County
Indianapolis International sits about 7 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 Hendricks County
Schools across Hendricks County average an A−, better than 91% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- White Lick Elementary SchoolA+ · 77% proficient
- Reagan Elementary SchoolA+ · 73% proficient
- Eagle Elementary SchoolA+ · 73% proficient
Top middle schools
- Brownsburg West Middle SchoolA+ · 70% proficient
- Brownsburg East Middle SchoolA+ · 69% proficient
- Tri-west Middle SchoolA · 62% proficient
Top high schools
- Zionsville Community High SchoolA+ · 82% proficient
- Brownsburg High SchoolA · 72% proficient
- Cascade Senior High SchoolA · 70% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Hendricks County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Hendricks 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 Hendricks County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who Hendricks County suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 98% of counties, internet is fast and widely advertised, and 15% already work from home.
Common questions about living in Hendricks County
Is Hendricks County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Hendricks County ranks 90th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on few empty homes, what local pay buys, and a strong job market, and lowest on air quality and the weather. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Hendricks County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $311,573. The overall cost of living runs about 16% below the national average. Set against a $107,704 median income, cost of living beats 98% of counties.
Is Hendricks County safe?
Yes, Hendricks County is safer than 89% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $226 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Hendricks County?
July highs average about 87 degrees, and January highs near 40 with lows near 22. That works out to about 56 pleasant days a year, more than 3% of counties.
What are the best neighborhoods in Hendricks County?
Using the default rankings, the highest-scoring areas are Brownsburg, Indianapolis, and Plainfield. The ranked list and the re-weightable map above let you re-sort them for your own priorities.
Is Hendricks County good for families?
Schools beat 91% of counties, crime safety beats 89%, and childcare runs $1,131 a month.
Is Hendricks County good for remote workers?
Cost of living against local pay beats 98% of counties, and the fastest advertised internet here beats 75% of counties. About 15% of workers already work from home.
Compare Hendricks County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Hendricks County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Hendricks 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.
Hendricks County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Hendricks County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Hendricks County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Hendricks County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Hendricks County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Hendricks 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.