Best PlacesHighland Square, Akron, OH Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Highland Square, Akron, 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.
Highland Square, Akron ranks 3,350th of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on cheap car insurance by a wide margin, and property taxes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Highland Square, Akron
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.
Highland Square, Akron's strengths and weaknesses
Where Highland Square, Akron ranks high
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 95% of neighborhoods
- Disaster safetyBetter than 82% of neighborhoods
- Tree shadeBetter than 80% of neighborhoods
- TransitBetter than 77% of neighborhoods
- Short commute21.4 minutes each way, better than 71% of neighborhoods
Where Highland Square, Akron ranks low
- Low property taxBetter than only 16% of neighborhoods
- Local economyBetter than only 19% of neighborhoods
- Crime safetyBetter than only 21% of neighborhoods
- Health outlookBetter than only 23% of neighborhoods
- Big-city accessBetter than only 26% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in Highland Square, Akron
A household needs to earn about $56,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Highland Square, Akron home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $59,308, 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 Highland Square, Akron's effective rate of 1.51%, 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 6 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Highland Square, Akron
Highland Square, Akron runs older 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 Highland Square, Akron.
Who works in Highland Square, Akron, and how
Work in Highland Square, Akron centers on health care & social and hospitality & food. Unemployment runs well above the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 70%
- Work from home 19%
- Transit, walk, or bike 11%
Life in Highland Square, Akron
Highland Square, Akron has more restaurants and bars per resident than 66% of neighborhoods and more parkland per resident than 78% of neighborhoods. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Highland Square, Akron and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Highland Square, Akron, month by month
Highland Square, Akron sees roughly 102 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 88 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 | 65° | 52° | 40° |
| July | 88° | 76° | 64° |
| October | 69° | 57° | 46° |
Flying in and out of Highland Square, Akron
The nearest airport, Akron-Canton Regional, is about 14 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Cleveland-Hopkins International, about 27 miles away.
The best schools in and around Highland Square, Akron
Schools across Highland Square, Akron average a C+, better than 52% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- King Community Learning CenterB · 48% proficient
- Case Community Learning CenterD+ · 23% proficient
- Portage Path Community Learning CenterD · 18% proficient
Top middle schools
- National Inventors Hall Of Fame School Center For StemB+ · 49% proficient
- I Promise SchoolF · 3% proficient
Top high schools
- Akron Stem High SchoolC+ · 37% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Highland Square, Akron school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Highland Square, Akron 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 Highland Square, Akron against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in Highland Square, Akron
Is Highland Square, Akron a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Highland Square, Akron ranks 3,350th of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on cheap car insurance, low disaster risk, and tree cover, and lowest on property taxes and a weak job market. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Highland Square, Akron expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $193,998. The overall cost of living runs about 18% below the national average. Set against a $59,308 median income, cost of living beats 44% of neighborhoods.
Is Highland Square, Akron safe?
Highland Square, Akron is safer than 21% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $617 per resident a year.
Compare Highland Square, Akron with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Highland Square, Akron. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Highland Square, Akron 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.
Highland Square, Akron detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Highland Square, Akron: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Highland Square, Akron: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Highland Square, Akron: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Highland Square, Akron: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Highland Square, Akron 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.