Best PlacesMartindale-Brightwood, Indianapolis, IN Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Martindale-Brightwood, 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.
Martindale-Brightwood, Indianapolis ranks 5,712th of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. Noise pulls hardest against it, while it scores best on affordable childcare.
The best neighborhoods in Martindale-Brightwood, 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.
Martindale-Brightwood, Indianapolis' strengths and weaknesses
Where Martindale-Brightwood, Indianapolis ranks high
- Cheap childcare$808 a month, better than 88% of neighborhoods
- Local economyBetter than 88% of neighborhoods
- State infrastructureBetter than 80% of neighborhoods
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 79% of neighborhoods
- Disaster safetyBetter than 76% of neighborhoods
Where Martindale-Brightwood, Indianapolis ranks low
- QuietBetter than only 1% of neighborhoods
- Nice weatherabout 54 pleasant days a year, better than only 1% of neighborhoods
- Low vacancyBetter than only 5% of neighborhoods
- Crime safetyBetter than only 5% of neighborhoods
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 7% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in Martindale-Brightwood, Indianapolis
A household needs to earn about $49,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Martindale-Brightwood, Indianapolis home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $49,889, 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 Martindale-Brightwood, Indianapolis' effective rate of 0.75%, 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 5 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Martindale-Brightwood, Indianapolis
Martindale-Brightwood, Indianapolis runs younger 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 Martindale-Brightwood, Indianapolis.
Who works in Martindale-Brightwood, Indianapolis, and how
Work in Martindale-Brightwood, Indianapolis centers on health care & social and admin & support services. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 78%
- Work from home 9%
- Transit, walk, or bike 13%
Life in Martindale-Brightwood, Indianapolis
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Martindale-Brightwood, Indianapolis.
What the weather is like in Martindale-Brightwood, Indianapolis, month by month
Martindale-Brightwood, Indianapolis sees roughly 54 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 Martindale-Brightwood, Indianapolis
Indianapolis International sits about 11 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 Martindale-Brightwood, Indianapolis
Schools across Martindale-Brightwood, Indianapolis average a D, better than 10% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Center For Inquiry School 27C− · 30% 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 Martindale-Brightwood, Indianapolis school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Martindale-Brightwood, 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 Martindale-Brightwood, Indianapolis against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in Martindale-Brightwood, Indianapolis
Is Martindale-Brightwood, Indianapolis a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Martindale-Brightwood, Indianapolis ranks 5,712th of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on affordable childcare, a strong job market, and state infrastructure, and lowest on noise and the weather. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Martindale-Brightwood, Indianapolis expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $190,493. The overall cost of living runs about 20% below the national average. Set against a $49,889 median income, cost of living beats 29% of neighborhoods.
Is Martindale-Brightwood, Indianapolis safe?
Martindale-Brightwood, Indianapolis is safer than 5% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $907 per resident a year.
Compare Martindale-Brightwood, Indianapolis with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Martindale-Brightwood, Indianapolis. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Martindale-Brightwood, 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.
Martindale-Brightwood, Indianapolis detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Martindale-Brightwood, Indianapolis: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Martindale-Brightwood, Indianapolis: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Martindale-Brightwood, Indianapolis: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Martindale-Brightwood, Indianapolis: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Martindale-Brightwood, 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.