Best PlacesNew Washington, IN Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around New Washington, 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.
New Washington ranks 14,522nd of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on low crime by a wide margin, and the weather ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in New Washington
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.
New Washington's strengths and weaknesses
Where New Washington ranks high
- Crime safetyBetter than 93% of towns
- WalkabilityBetter than 91% of towns
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 84% of towns
- Cell coverageBetter than 80% of towns
- State infrastructureBetter than 80% of towns
Where New Washington ranks low
- Nice weatherabout 56 pleasant days a year, better than only 3% of towns
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 9% of towns
- Short commute33.4 minutes each way, better than only 19% of towns
- Internet speedBetter than only 23% of towns
- Heat safetyBetter than only 35% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in New Washington
A household needs to earn about $60,000 a year to comfortably buy the median New Washington home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $72,938, 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 New Washington's effective rate of 0.69%, 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 7 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in New Washington
New Washington 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 New Washington.
Who works in New Washington, and how
Work in New Washington centers on manufacturing and retail trade. Unemployment is low, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 90%
- Work from home 8%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in New Washington
New Washington has more restaurants and bars per resident than 99% of towns. That concentrates in some parts of New Washington and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in New Washington, month by month
New Washington sees roughly 56 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 90 degrees. January highs sit near 46, with lows near 26. The comfortable stretch runs April, May, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 46° | 36° | 26° |
| April | 71° | 58° | 45° |
| July | 90° | 79° | 69° |
| October | 74° | 60° | 48° |
Flying in and out of New Washington
The nearest airport, Louisville Muhammad Ali International, is about 29 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International, about 57 miles away.
The best schools in and around New Washington
Schools across New Washington average a C+, better than 41% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- New Washington Elementary SchoolC+ · 37% proficient
Top middle schools
- North Oldham Middle SchoolB+ · 50% proficient
- Charlestown Middle SchoolC− · 29% proficient
- Southwestern Middle SchoolD · 22% proficient
Top high schools
- Charlestown Senior High SchoolB · 47% proficient
- New Washington Middle/high SchoolC+ · 35% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every New Washington school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
New Washington 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 New Washington against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in New Washington
Is New Washington a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, New Washington ranks 14,522nd of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on low crime, walkability, and cheap car insurance, 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 New Washington expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $234,053. The overall cost of living runs about 15% below the national average. Set against a $72,938 median income, cost of living beats 59% of towns.
Is New Washington safe?
Yes, New Washington is safer than 93% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $151 per resident a year.
Compare New Washington with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to New Washington. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in New Washington 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.
New Washington detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for New Washington: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in New Washington: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of New Washington: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in New Washington: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
New Washington 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.