Best PlacesOhio County, KY Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Ohio 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.
Ohio County ranks 2,435th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on a stable housing market by a wide margin, and car insurance costs are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Ohio 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.
Ohio County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Ohio County ranks high
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 91% of counties
- Low property taxBetter than 69% of counties
- Cheap childcare$660 a month, better than 65% of counties
- Crime safetyBetter than 65% of counties
- Tree shadeBetter than 63% of counties
Where Ohio County ranks low
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 14% of counties
- Health outlookBetter than only 14% of counties
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 15% of counties
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 15% of counties
- BikingBetter than only 17% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Ohio County
A household needs to earn about $33,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Ohio County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $59,620, 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 Ohio County's effective rate of 0.59%, 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 Ohio County
Ohio 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 Ohio County.
Who works in Ohio County, and how
Work in Ohio County centers on manufacturing and health care & social. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 93%
- Work from home 5%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in Ohio County
Ohio County has fewer places to eat and drink per resident than most counties. That concentrates in some parts of Ohio County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Ohio County growing, and who is moving in?
Ohio County has held roughly flat in population over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Owensboro, KY.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Ohio County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Ohio County, month by month
Ohio County sees roughly 69 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 89 degrees. January highs sit near 44, with lows near 28. The comfortable stretch runs April, May, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 44° | 35° | 28° |
| April | 70° | 58° | 48° |
| July | 89° | 79° | 70° |
| October | 72° | 60° | 50° |
Flying in and out of Ohio County
The nearest airport, Owensboro/Daviess County Regional, is about 25 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Nashville International, about 93 miles away.
The best schools in and around Ohio County
Schools across Ohio County average a C, better than 39% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Wayland Alexander Elementary SchoolC+ · 38% proficient
- Southern Oaks Elementary SchoolC+ · 37% proficient
- Beaver Dam Elementary SchoolC · 32% proficient
Top middle schools
- Daviess County Middle SchoolB− · 39% proficient
- Breckinridge County Middle SchoolC+ · 37% proficient
- Ohio County Middle SchoolC · 33% proficient
Top high schools
- Ohio County High SchoolC+ · 39% proficient
- Hancock County High SchoolC+ · 37% proficient
- Daviess County High SchoolC · 35% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Ohio County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Ohio 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 Ohio County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who Ohio County suits
Families
Schools land around the 39th percentile and crime safety beats 65%.
Retirees
Set weather, quiet, and health care weights on the map to test the fit.
Common questions about living in Ohio County
Is Ohio County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Ohio County ranks 2,435th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on a stable housing market, low property taxes, and affordable childcare, and lowest on car insurance costs and health outcomes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Ohio County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $129,274. The overall cost of living runs about 21% below the national average. Set against a $59,620 median income, cost of living beats 35% of counties.
Is Ohio County safe?
Yes, Ohio County is safer than 65% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $267 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Ohio County?
July highs average about 89 degrees, and January highs near 44 with lows near 28. That works out to about 69 pleasant days a year, more than 20% of counties.
Is Ohio County good for families?
Schools beat 39% of counties, crime safety beats 65%, and childcare runs $660 a month.
Compare Ohio County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Ohio County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Ohio 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.
Ohio County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Ohio County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Ohio County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Ohio County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Ohio County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Ohio 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.