Best PlacesHighland Vicinity, Indianapolis, IN Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Highland Vicinity, Indianapolis, 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 Vicinity, Indianapolis ranks 5,542nd of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. The weather pulls hardest against it, while it scores best on affordable childcare.
The best neighborhoods in Highland Vicinity, Indianapolis
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 Vicinity, Indianapolis' strengths and weaknesses
Where Highland Vicinity, Indianapolis ranks high
- Cheap childcare$808 a month, better than 88% of neighborhoods
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 82% of neighborhoods
- State infrastructureBetter than 80% of neighborhoods
- Short commute20.3 minutes each way, better than 78% of neighborhoods
- Disaster safetyBetter than 71% of neighborhoods
Where Highland Vicinity, Indianapolis ranks low
- Nice weatherabout 53 pleasant days a year, better than only 1% of neighborhoods
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 1% of neighborhoods
- Low vacancyBetter than only 3% of neighborhoods
- QuietBetter than only 4% of neighborhoods
- School gradeD, better than only 10% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in Highland Vicinity, Indianapolis
A household needs to earn about $54,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Highland Vicinity, Indianapolis home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $44,967, so buying stretches a typical household.
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 Vicinity, Indianapolis' effective rate of 0.82%, 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 Vicinity, Indianapolis
Highland Vicinity, Indianapolis'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 Highland Vicinity, Indianapolis.
Who works in Highland Vicinity, Indianapolis, and how
Work in Highland Vicinity, Indianapolis centers on retail trade and manufacturing. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 72%
- Work from home 15%
- Transit, walk, or bike 13%
Life in Highland Vicinity, Indianapolis
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Highland Vicinity, Indianapolis.
What the weather is like in Highland Vicinity, Indianapolis, month by month
Highland Vicinity, Indianapolis sees roughly 53 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 Highland Vicinity, Indianapolis
Indianapolis International sits about 10 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 Highland Vicinity, Indianapolis
Schools across Highland Vicinity, Indianapolis average a D, better than 10% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Center For Inquiry School 27C− · 30% proficient
- George Washington Carver School 87C− · 28% proficient
- James Whitcomb Riley School 43F · 4% proficient
Top middle schools
- Merle Sidener Gifted AcademyA+ · 74% proficient
- Arlington Community Middle SchoolF · 6% proficient
Top high schools
- Shortridge High SchoolC− · 29% proficient
- Arsenal Technical High SchoolD− · 13% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Highland Vicinity, Indianapolis school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Highland Vicinity, Indianapolis 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 Vicinity, Indianapolis against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in Highland Vicinity, Indianapolis
Is Highland Vicinity, Indianapolis a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Highland Vicinity, Indianapolis ranks 5,542nd of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on affordable childcare, cheap car insurance, and state infrastructure, and lowest on the weather and an overheated housing market. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Highland Vicinity, Indianapolis expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $207,847. The overall cost of living runs about 21% below the national average. Set against a $44,967 median income, cost of living beats 25% of neighborhoods.
Is Highland Vicinity, Indianapolis safe?
Highland Vicinity, Indianapolis is safer than 11% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $738 per resident a year.
Compare Highland Vicinity, Indianapolis with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Highland Vicinity, Indianapolis. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Highland Vicinity, Indianapolis 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 Vicinity, Indianapolis detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Highland Vicinity, Indianapolis: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Highland Vicinity, Indianapolis: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Highland Vicinity, Indianapolis: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Highland Vicinity, Indianapolis: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Highland Vicinity, Indianapolis 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.