Best PlacesSmithson, IN Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Smithson, 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.
Smithson ranks 19,556th 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 Smithson
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.
Smithson's strengths and weaknesses
Where Smithson ranks high
- Low vacancyBetter than 93% of towns
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 92% of towns
- Local economyBetter than 92% of towns
- Low property taxBetter than 85% of towns
- Big-city accessBetter than 83% of towns
Where Smithson ranks low
- Tree shadeBetter than only 2% of towns
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 6% of towns
- Internet speedBetter than only 17% of towns
- BikingBetter than only 17% of towns
- WalkabilityBetter than only 19% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Smithson
A household needs to earn about $46,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Smithson home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $67,054, 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 Smithson'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 Smithson
Smithson runs younger than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Smithson.
Who works in Smithson, and how
Work in Smithson centers on manufacturing and retail trade. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 92%
- Work from home 3%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in Smithson
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Smithson.
What the weather is like in Smithson, month by month
Smithson sees roughly 68 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 87 degrees. January highs sit near 38, with lows near 19. The comfortable stretch runs May through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 38° | 28° | 19° |
| April | 66° | 52° | 40° |
| July | 87° | 75° | 63° |
| October | 70° | 56° | 44° |
Flying in and out of Smithson
The nearest airport, South Bend International, is about 74 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Indianapolis International, about 75 miles away.
The best schools in and around Smithson
Schools across Smithson average a C+, better than 51% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Frontier ElementaryB+ · 53% proficient
- Meadowlawn Elementary SchoolC · 34% proficient
- North White Elementary SchoolD+ · 24% proficient
Top middle schools
- Roosevelt Middle SchoolB · 43% proficient
- North White Middle SchoolD+ · 25% proficient
Top high schools
- Twin Lakes Senior High SchoolB− · 45% proficient
- North White High SchoolC+ · 40% proficient
- Frontier Jr-sr High SchoolC+ · 38% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Smithson school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Smithson 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 Smithson against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Smithson
Is Smithson a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Smithson ranks 19,556th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on few empty homes, cheap car insurance, and a strong job market, and lowest on tree cover and taxes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Smithson expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $185,640. The overall cost of living runs about 22% below the national average. Set against a $67,054 median income, cost of living beats 56% of towns.
Is Smithson safe?
Smithson is safer than 45% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $277 per resident a year.
Compare Smithson with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Smithson. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Smithson 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.
Smithson detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Smithson: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Smithson: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Smithson: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Smithson: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Smithson 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.