Best PlacesMcKinley, IN Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around McKinley, 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.
McKinley ranks 36,806th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on heat safety by a wide margin, and biking ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in McKinley
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.
McKinley's strengths and weaknesses
Where McKinley ranks high
- Heat safetyBetter than 96% of towns
- Low vacancyBetter than 88% of towns
- Tree shadeBetter than 88% of towns
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 86% of towns
- Low property taxBetter than 86% of towns
Where McKinley ranks low
- BikingBetter than only 3% of towns
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 5% of towns
- Health outlookBetter than only 6% of towns
- Local economyBetter than only 9% of towns
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 9% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in McKinley
A household needs to earn about $39,000 a year to comfortably buy the median McKinley home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $56,027, 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 McKinley's effective rate of 0.43%, 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 McKinley
McKinley'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 McKinley.
Who works in McKinley, and how
Work in McKinley centers on manufacturing and retail trade. Unemployment runs well above the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 94%
- Work from home 5%
- Transit, walk, or bike 1%
Life in McKinley
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across McKinley.
What the weather is like in McKinley, month by month
McKinley sees roughly 124 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 85 degrees. January highs sit near 40, with lows near 25. The comfortable stretch runs April through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 40° | 32° | 25° |
| April | 66° | 55° | 46° |
| July | 85° | 75° | 68° |
| October | 69° | 58° | 49° |
Flying in and out of McKinley
The nearest airport, Louisville Muhammad Ali International, is about 47 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Indianapolis International, about 67 miles away.
The best schools in and around McKinley
Schools across McKinley average a C, better than 32% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Bradie Shrum ElementaryC · 31% proficient
Top middle schools
- Salem Middle SchoolD · 22% proficient
Top high schools
- Salem High SchoolB− · 42% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every McKinley school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
McKinley 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 McKinley against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in McKinley
Is McKinley a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, McKinley ranks 36,806th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on heat safety, few empty homes, and tree cover, and lowest on biking and education levels. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is McKinley expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $159,000. The overall cost of living runs about 20% below the national average. Set against a $56,027 median income, cost of living beats 24% of towns.
Is McKinley safe?
McKinley is safer than 48% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $265 per resident a year.
Compare McKinley with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to McKinley. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in McKinley 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.
McKinley detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for McKinley: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in McKinley: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of McKinley: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in McKinley: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
McKinley 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.