Best PlacesSouth Boston, IN Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around South Boston, 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.
South Boston ranks 24,897th 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 South Boston
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.
South Boston's strengths and weaknesses
Where South Boston ranks high
- Crime safetyBetter than 92% of towns
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 85% of towns
- Low vacancyBetter than 82% of towns
- State infrastructureBetter than 80% of towns
- Internet speedBetter than 79% of towns
Where South Boston ranks low
- Nice weatherabout 55 pleasant days a year, better than only 3% of towns
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 9% of towns
- BikingBetter than only 14% of towns
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 16% of towns
- WalkabilityBetter than only 19% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in South Boston
A household needs to earn about $52,000 a year to comfortably buy the median South Boston home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $69,624, 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 South Boston's effective rate of 0.68%, 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 South Boston
South Boston runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for South Boston.
Who works in South Boston, and how
Work in South Boston centers on manufacturing and construction. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 89%
- Work from home 10%
- Transit, walk, or bike 1%
Life in South Boston
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across South Boston.
What the weather is like in South Boston, month by month
South Boston sees roughly 55 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 South Boston
The nearest airport, Louisville Muhammad Ali International, is about 31 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International, about 78 miles away.
The best schools in and around South Boston
Schools across South Boston average a C, better than 40% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- East Washington Elementary SchoolC+ · 39% proficient
- Bradie Shrum ElementaryC · 31% proficient
Top middle schools
- East Washington Middle SchoolD · 23% proficient
- Salem Middle SchoolD · 22% proficient
Top high schools
- Eastern High SchoolB− · 45% proficient
- Salem High SchoolB− · 42% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every South Boston school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
South Boston 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 South Boston against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in South Boston
Is South Boston a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, South Boston ranks 24,897th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on low crime, cheap car insurance, and few empty homes, 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 South Boston expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $200,497. The overall cost of living runs about 17% below the national average. Set against a $69,624 median income, cost of living beats 52% of towns.
Is South Boston safe?
Yes, South Boston is safer than 92% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $153 per resident a year.
Compare South Boston with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to South Boston. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in South Boston 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.
South Boston detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for South Boston: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in South Boston: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of South Boston: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in South Boston: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
South Boston 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.