Best PlacesIndiana County, PA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Indiana County, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. The averages are not the whole story, and the strongest areas score well above them. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Indiana County ranks 1,206th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on low disaster risk by a wide margin, and a weak job market ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Indiana 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 Indiana County
The parts of Indiana 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.
Indiana
Streets are more walkable, more adults hold degrees, and health outcomes score higher.
Homer City
Fewer homes sit empty and prices have run up less.
Blairsville
It is noisier and schools score lower.
Scores across Indiana County run from about the 13th to the 80th percentile nationally. The map is where that becomes a choice of area.
Indiana County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Indiana County ranks high
- Disaster safetyBetter than 95% of counties
- Internet speedBetter than 92% of counties
- Heat safetyBetter than 90% of counties
- School gradeB+, better than 87% of counties
- Crime safetyBetter than 81% of counties
Where Indiana County ranks low
- Local economyBetter than only 12% of counties
- Low property taxBetter than only 13% of counties
- State infrastructureBetter than only 14% of counties
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 20% of counties
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 23% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Indiana County
A household needs to earn about $43,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Indiana County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $60,688, 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 Indiana County's effective rate of 1.35%, 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 Indiana County
Indiana 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 Indiana County.
Who works in Indiana County, and how
Work in Indiana County centers on retail trade and health care & social. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 81%
- Work from home 10%
- Transit, walk, or bike 9%
Life in Indiana County
Indiana County has more parkland per resident than 77% of counties. That concentrates in some parts of Indiana County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Indiana County growing, and who is moving in?
Indiana County has lost about 5% of its population over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Pittsburgh, PA.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Indiana County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Indiana County, month by month
Indiana County sees roughly 83 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 83 degrees. January highs sit near 37, with lows near 22. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 37° | 29° | 22° |
| April | 62° | 50° | 41° |
| July | 83° | 73° | 64° |
| October | 64° | 54° | 46° |
Flying in and out of Indiana County
The nearest airport, John Murtha Johnstown/Cambria County, is about 26 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Pittsburgh International, about 58 miles away.
The best schools in and around Indiana County
Schools across Indiana County average a B+, better than 87% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- United El SchA+ · 85% proficient
- Purchase Line El SchA+ · 80% proficient
- Northern Cambria El SchA+ · 75% proficient
Top middle schools
- Indiana Area JhsA− · 55% proficient
- Derry Area MsB · 46% proficient
- Northern Cambria MsB− · 40% proficient
Top high schools
- Northern Cambria HsA · 70% proficient
- Apollo-ridge HsA · 70% proficient
- Derry Area ShsA · 68% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Indiana County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Indiana 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 Indiana County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who Indiana County suits
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 10% already work from home.
Common questions about living in Indiana County
Is Indiana County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Indiana County ranks 1,206th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on low disaster risk, fast internet, and heat safety, and lowest on a weak job market and property taxes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Indiana County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $152,172. The overall cost of living runs about 15% below the national average. Set against a $60,688 median income, cost of living beats 26% of counties.
Is Indiana County safe?
Yes, Indiana County is safer than 81% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $231 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Indiana County?
July highs average about 83 degrees, and January highs near 37 with lows near 22. That works out to about 83 pleasant days a year, more than 43% of counties.
What are the best neighborhoods in Indiana County?
Using the default rankings, the highest-scoring areas are Indiana, Homer City, and Blairsville. The ranked list and the re-weightable map above let you re-sort them for your own priorities.
Compare Indiana County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Indiana County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Indiana 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.
Indiana County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Indiana County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Indiana County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Indiana County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Indiana County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Indiana 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.