Best PlacesMiami County, IN Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Miami County, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. This page is for people who live here or already know they want to. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Miami County ranks 1,749th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on cheap car insurance by a wide margin, and the weather ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Miami 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.
Miami County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Miami County ranks high
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 92% of counties
- Disaster safetyBetter than 87% of counties
- Big-city accessBetter than 82% of counties
- Low property taxBetter than 80% of counties
- BikingBetter than 79% of counties
Where Miami County ranks low
- Nice weatherabout 58 pleasant days a year, better than only 4% of counties
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 5% of counties
- QuietBetter than only 12% of counties
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 16% of counties
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 27% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Miami County
A household needs to earn about $33,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Miami County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $63,088, 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 Miami County's effective rate of 0.50%, 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 Miami County
Miami 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 Miami County.
Who works in Miami County, and how
Work in Miami County 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 6%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in Miami County
Miami County has fewer places to eat and drink per resident than most counties and more parkland per resident than 77% of counties. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Miami County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Miami County growing, and who is moving in?
Miami County has lost about 1% of its population over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Indianapolis, IN.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Miami County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Miami County, month by month
Miami County sees roughly 58 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 86 degrees. January highs sit near 36, with lows near 19. The comfortable stretch runs May through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 36° | 28° | 19° |
| April | 64° | 51° | 39° |
| July | 86° | 74° | 63° |
| October | 69° | 56° | 44° |
Flying in and out of Miami County
The nearest airport, Fort Wayne International, is about 49 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Indianapolis International, about 71 miles away.
The best schools in and around Miami County
Schools across Miami County average a C+, better than 45% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Sweetser Elementary SchoolB · 47% proficient
- North Miami Elementary SchoolC+ · 38% proficient
- Blair Pointe Upper ElementaryC+ · 37% proficient
Top middle schools
- Swayzee Elementary SchoolB− · 39% proficient
- Maconaquah Middle SchoolD · 23% proficient
Top high schools
- Maconaquah High SchoolB · 48% proficient
- Oak Hill High SchoolB− · 45% proficient
- Peru Jr/sr High SchoolC+ · 37% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Miami County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Miami 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 Miami County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who Miami County suits
Families
Schools land around the 45th percentile and crime safety beats 56%.
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 6% already work from home.
Retirees
Set weather, quiet, and health care weights on the map to test the fit.
Common questions about living in Miami County
Is Miami County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Miami County ranks 1,749th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on cheap car insurance, low disaster risk, and big-city access, and lowest on the weather and taxes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Miami County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $129,754. The overall cost of living runs about 22% below the national average. Set against a $63,088 median income, cost of living beats 50% of counties.
Is Miami County safe?
Yes, Miami County is safer than 56% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $287 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Miami County?
July highs average about 86 degrees, and January highs near 36 with lows near 19. That works out to about 58 pleasant days a year, more than 4% of counties.
Is Miami County good for families?
Schools beat 45% of counties, crime safety beats 56%, and childcare runs $808 a month.
Compare Miami County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Miami County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Miami 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.
Miami County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Miami County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Miami County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Miami County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Miami County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Miami 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.