Best PlacesJefferson County, KY Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Jefferson 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.
Jefferson County ranks 1,621st of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It ranks low mainly on the weather and noise. It does better on transit, which keeps it off the bottom.
The best neighborhoods in Jefferson 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 Jefferson County
The parts of Jefferson 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.
Prospect, Lyndon & St. Matthews
More adults hold degrees, local pay stretches further, and incomes run higher.
Jeffersontown & Middletown
Crime runs lower and health care is easier to reach.
Indian Hills
Streets are more walkable, though fewer households have young kids.
Fairdale
Fewer homes sit empty, though fewer residents vote.
Louisville
Homes cost less, though prices have run up more.
Shively
Transit reaches more jobs, though health outcomes score lower.
Jefferson County shows why a single number is not enough. Some neighborhoods score in the bottom 1% of the country and others in the top 6%. Pick the area first, then the home.
Jefferson County's strengths and weaknesses
Jefferson County lands in the middle because its strengths and weaknesses roughly balance. Transit is the standout, in the top 2% of counties. Cell coverage and walkability follow.
The one real hole is the weather, near the bottom of the country. Noise and the schools also cost it ground. The detail is below, and the map is where it turns into a choice of neighborhood rather than just a place.
Where Jefferson County ranks high
- TransitBetter than 98% of counties
- Cell coverageBetter than 92% of counties
- WalkabilityBetter than 92% of counties
- BikingBetter than 90% of counties
- Internet speedBetter than 88% of counties
Where Jefferson County ranks low
- Nice weatherabout 55 pleasant days a year, better than only 2% of counties
- QuietBetter than only 3% of counties
- School gradeD+, better than only 8% of counties
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 9% of counties
- Crime safetyBetter than only 9% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Jefferson County
A household needs to earn about $72,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Jefferson County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $79,170, 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 Jefferson County's effective rate of 0.84%, 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 Jefferson County
Jefferson County'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 Jefferson County.
Who works in Jefferson County, and how
Work in Jefferson County centers on health care & social and manufacturing. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 80%
- Work from home 14%
- Transit, walk, or bike 6%
Life in Jefferson County
Jefferson County has more restaurants and bars per resident than 72% of counties and more parkland per resident than 72% of counties. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Jefferson County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Jefferson County growing, and who is moving in?
Jefferson County has grown about 4% over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from the rest of the Louisville, KY metro.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Jefferson County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Jefferson County, month by month
Jefferson County sees roughly 55 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 91 degrees. January highs sit near 47, with lows near 27. The comfortable stretch runs April, May, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 47° | 36° | 27° |
| April | 73° | 59° | 47° |
| July | 91° | 81° | 71° |
| October | 75° | 62° | 51° |
Flying in and out of Jefferson County
The nearest airport, Louisville Muhammad Ali International, is about 3 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International, about 80 miles away.
The best schools in and around Jefferson County
Schools across Jefferson County average a D+, better than 8% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Anchorage Independent Public SchoolA+ · 73% proficient
- Greathouse/shryock TraditionalA · 67% proficient
- Goshen At Hillcrest Elementary SchoolA− · 57% proficient
Top middle schools
- Noe MiddleA− · 53% proficient
- Meyzeek MiddleB+ · 52% proficient
- North Oldham Middle SchoolB+ · 50% proficient
Top high schools
- Dupont Manual HighA · 72% proficient
- North Oldham High SchoolA− · 59% proficient
- Louisville Male HighB · 47% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Jefferson County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Jefferson 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 Jefferson County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who Jefferson County suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 82% of counties, internet is fast and widely advertised, and 14% already work from home.
Retirees
Set weather, quiet, and health care weights on the map to test the fit.
Common questions about living in Jefferson County
Is Jefferson County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Jefferson County ranks 1,621st of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on transit, cell coverage, and walkability, and lowest on the weather and noise. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Jefferson County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $274,056. The overall cost of living runs about 15% below the national average. Set against a $79,170 median income, cost of living beats 82% of counties.
Is Jefferson County safe?
Jefferson County is safer than 9% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $555 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Jefferson County?
July highs average about 91 degrees, and January highs near 47 with lows near 27. That works out to about 55 pleasant days a year, more than 2% of counties.
What are the best neighborhoods in Jefferson County?
Using the default rankings, the highest-scoring areas are Prospect, Lyndon & St. Matthews, Jeffersontown & Middletown, and Indian Hills. The ranked list and the re-weightable map above let you re-sort them for your own priorities.
Is Jefferson County good for families?
Schools beat 8% of counties, crime safety beats 9%, and childcare runs $939 a month.
Is Jefferson County good for remote workers?
Cost of living against local pay beats 82% of counties, and the fastest advertised internet here beats 88% of counties. About 14% of workers already work from home.
Compare Jefferson County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Jefferson County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Jefferson 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.
Jefferson County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Jefferson County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Jefferson County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Jefferson County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Jefferson County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Jefferson 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.