Best PlacesJay County, IN Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Jay County, 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.
Jay County ranks 2,024th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on cheap car insurance by a wide margin, and taxes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Jay 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.
Jay County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Jay County ranks high
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 93% of counties
- State infrastructureBetter than 75% of counties
- WalkabilityBetter than 75% of counties
- Big-city accessBetter than 70% of counties
- Disaster safetyBetter than 67% of counties
Where Jay County ranks low
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 5% of counties
- Nice weatherabout 64 pleasant days a year, better than only 11% of counties
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 14% of counties
- Health outlookBetter than only 18% of counties
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 18% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Jay County
A household needs to earn about $35,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Jay County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $58,629, 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 Jay County's effective rate of 0.61%, 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 Jay County
Jay 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 Jay County.
Who works in Jay County, and how
Work in Jay County centers on manufacturing and construction. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 88%
- Work from home 8%
- Transit, walk, or bike 5%
Life in Jay County
Jay County has fewer places to eat and drink per resident than most counties. That concentrates in some parts of Jay County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Jay County growing, and who is moving in?
Jay County has lost about 5% of its population over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Indianapolis, IN.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Jay County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Jay County, month by month
Jay County sees roughly 64 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 87 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 | 66° | 53° | 41° |
| July | 87° | 76° | 65° |
| October | 71° | 58° | 47° |
Flying in and out of Jay County
The nearest airport, Fort Wayne International, is about 39 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Indianapolis International, about 83 miles away.
The best schools in and around Jay County
Schools across Jay County average a C, better than 37% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Redkey Elementary SchoolB− · 40% proficient
- Bloomfield Elementary SchoolC+ · 37% proficient
- East Jay ElementaryC · 34% proficient
Top high schools
- Jay County Jr/sr High SchoolC · 32% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Jay County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Jay 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 Jay County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who Jay County suits
Families
Schools land around the 37th percentile and crime safety beats 60%.
Retirees
Set weather, quiet, and health care weights on the map to test the fit.
Common questions about living in Jay County
Is Jay County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Jay County ranks 2,024th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on cheap car insurance, state infrastructure, and walkability, and lowest on taxes and the weather. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Jay County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $139,329. The overall cost of living runs about 22% below the national average. Set against a $58,629 median income, cost of living beats 33% of counties.
Is Jay County safe?
Yes, Jay County is safer than 60% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $274 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Jay County?
July highs average about 87 degrees, and January highs near 39 with lows near 22. That works out to about 64 pleasant days a year, more than 11% of counties.
Is Jay County good for families?
Schools beat 37% of counties, crime safety beats 60%, and childcare runs $736 a month.
Compare Jay County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Jay County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Jay 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.
Jay County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Jay County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Jay County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Jay County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Jay County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Jay 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.