Best PlacesJonesboro, IN Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Jonesboro, 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.
Jonesboro ranks 36,882nd of 50,333 U.S. towns 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 Jonesboro
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.
Jonesboro's strengths and weaknesses
Where Jonesboro ranks high
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 90% of towns
- Cell coverageBetter than 90% of towns
- Short commute19.6 minutes each way, better than 89% of towns
- BikingBetter than 86% of towns
- State infrastructureBetter than 80% of towns
Where Jonesboro ranks low
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 5% of towns
- QuietBetter than only 13% of towns
- Household income$51,052 median, better than only 14% of towns
- Health outlookBetter than only 16% of towns
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 17% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Jonesboro
A household needs to earn about $27,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Jonesboro home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $51,052, 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 Jonesboro's effective rate of 0.77%, 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 3 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Jonesboro
Jonesboro 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 Jonesboro.
Who works in Jonesboro, and how
Work in Jonesboro centers on manufacturing and retail trade. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 90%
- Work from home 7%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in Jonesboro
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Jonesboro.
What the weather is like in Jonesboro, month by month
Jonesboro sees roughly 70 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 85 degrees. January highs sit near 34, with lows near 21. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 34° | 27° | 21° |
| April | 62° | 50° | 40° |
| July | 85° | 73° | 61° |
| October | 66° | 54° | 45° |
Flying in and out of Jonesboro
The nearest airport, Fort Wayne International, is about 42 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Indianapolis International, about 63 miles away.
The best schools in and around Jonesboro
Schools across Jonesboro average a C, better than 29% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Eastbrook South ElementaryB · 47% proficient
- Park Elementary SchoolC · 32% proficient
- Frances Slocum Elem SchoolF · 8% proficient
Top middle schools
- Eastbrook Middle SchoolC+ · 38% proficient
- R J Baskett Middle SchoolD+ · 27% proficient
- Justice Thurgood Marshall IntrmdD · 19% proficient
Top high schools
- Eastbrook High SchoolB+ · 57% proficient
- Madison-grant Jr./sr. High SchoolC+ · 36% proficient
- Mississinewa High SchoolC · 32% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Jonesboro school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Jonesboro 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 Jonesboro against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Jonesboro
Is Jonesboro a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Jonesboro ranks 36,882nd of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on cheap car insurance, cell coverage, and short commutes, and lowest on taxes and noise. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Jonesboro expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $102,061. The overall cost of living runs about 17% below the national average. Set against a $51,052 median income, cost of living beats 17% of towns.
Is Jonesboro safe?
Jonesboro is safer than 43% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $293 per resident a year.
Compare Jonesboro with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Jonesboro. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Jonesboro 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.
Jonesboro detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Jonesboro: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Jonesboro: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Jonesboro: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Jonesboro: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Jonesboro 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.