Best PlacesNorth Hayden, IN Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around North Hayden, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Local pay runs high here, and housing takes the biggest bite out of it. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
North Hayden ranks 2,742nd of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on few empty homes by a wide margin, and tree cover ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in North Hayden
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.
North Hayden's strengths and weaknesses
Where North Hayden ranks high
- Low vacancyBetter than 98% of towns
- Local economyBetter than 98% of towns
- Voter turnoutBetter than 97% of towns
- Cell coverageBetter than 94% of towns
- Big-city accessBetter than 94% of towns
Where North Hayden ranks low
- Tree shadeBetter than only 2% of towns
- Air qualityBetter than only 11% of towns
- Short commute33.0 minutes each way, better than only 20% of towns
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 21% of towns
- QuietBetter than only 27% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in North Hayden
A household needs to earn about $87,000 a year to comfortably buy the median North Hayden home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $122,356, 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 North Hayden's effective rate of 0.85%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Who lives in North Hayden
North Hayden's age mix sits close to the national median, and households here run larger than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for North Hayden.
Who works in North Hayden, and how
Work in North Hayden centers on health care & social and construction. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 86%
- Work from home 11%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in North Hayden
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across North Hayden.
What the weather is like in North Hayden, month by month
North Hayden sees roughly 74 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 84 degrees. January highs sit near 33, with lows near 20. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 33° | 26° | 20° |
| April | 60° | 48° | 39° |
| July | 84° | 74° | 65° |
| October | 65° | 54° | 45° |
Flying in and out of North Hayden
Chicago Midway International sits about 37 miles away. It is a large hub and boarded 9.4 million passengers in 2025, with 113 nonstop destinations.
The best schools in and around North Hayden
Schools across North Hayden average a B+, better than 74% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Lake Prairie Elementary SchoolB+ · 53% proficient
Top middle schools
- Lowell Middle SchoolB+ · 48% proficient
Top high schools
- Lowell Senior High SchoolB+ · 52% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every North Hayden school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
North Hayden 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 North Hayden against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in North Hayden
Is North Hayden a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, North Hayden ranks 2,742nd of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on few empty homes, a strong job market, and civic engagement, and lowest on tree cover and air quality. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is North Hayden expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $332,000. The overall cost of living runs about 1% below the national average. Set against a $122,356 median income, cost of living beats 92% of towns.
Is North Hayden safe?
Yes, North Hayden is safer than 94% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $137 per resident a year.
Compare North Hayden with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to North Hayden. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in North Hayden 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.
North Hayden detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for North Hayden: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in North Hayden: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of North Hayden: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in North Hayden: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
North Hayden 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.