Best PlacesSteuben County, IN Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Steuben County, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. The averages are not the whole story, and the strongest areas score well above them. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Steuben County ranks 1,272nd of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on cheap car insurance by a wide margin, and taxes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Steuben 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.
The best areas in Steuben County
The parts of Steuben County, ranked by the BestNeighborhood standard score across every neighborhood, highest scoring first. Each note says how that part differs from the rest of the county.
Angola
Fewer homes sit empty, biking is better, and streets are more walkable.
Hamilton
More households have young kids, though schools score lower.
Fremont
Advertised internet is slower and it is noisier.
Scores across Steuben County run from about the 12th to the 76th percentile nationally. The map is where that becomes a choice of area.
Steuben County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Steuben County ranks high
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 94% of counties
- Internet speedBetter than 90% of counties
- Disaster safetyBetter than 87% of counties
- Heat safetyBetter than 86% of counties
- Healthcare accessBetter than 81% of counties
Where Steuben County ranks low
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 9% of counties
- QuietBetter than only 16% of counties
- Low vacancyBetter than only 20% of counties
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 22% of counties
- Local economyBetter than only 28% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Steuben County
A household needs to earn about $59,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Steuben County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $72,513, 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 Steuben County's effective rate of 0.56%, 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 9 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Steuben County
Steuben County 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 Steuben County.
Who works in Steuben County, and how
Work in Steuben County centers on manufacturing and health care & social. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 88%
- Work from home 6%
- Transit, walk, or bike 6%
Life in Steuben County
Steuben County has more restaurants and bars per resident than 67% of counties. That concentrates in some parts of Steuben County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Steuben County growing, and who is moving in?
Steuben County has grown about 1% over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Fort Wayne, IN.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Steuben County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Steuben County, month by month
Steuben County sees roughly 77 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 83 degrees. January highs sit near 33, with lows near 21. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 33° | 27° | 21° |
| April | 59° | 48° | 38° |
| July | 83° | 72° | 63° |
| October | 64° | 53° | 44° |
Flying in and out of Steuben County
The nearest airport, Fort Wayne International, is about 47 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Detroit Metro Wayne County, about 94 miles away.
The best schools in and around Steuben County
Schools across Steuben County average a B−, better than 62% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Ryan Park Elementary SchoolB+ · 52% proficient
- Fremont Elementary SchoolB · 45% proficient
- Country Meadow Elementary SchoolC+ · 37% proficient
Top middle schools
- Angola Middle SchoolB · 43% proficient
- Fremont Middle SchoolB− · 42% proficient
- Dekalb Middle SchoolB− · 42% proficient
Top high schools
- Prairie Heights Sr High SchoolA− · 65% proficient
- Fremont High SchoolA− · 62% proficient
- Dekalb High SchoolB+ · 52% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Steuben County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Steuben 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 Steuben County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who Steuben County suits
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 6% already work from home.
Common questions about living in Steuben County
Is Steuben County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Steuben County ranks 1,272nd of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on cheap car insurance, fast internet, and low disaster risk, and lowest on taxes and noise. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Steuben County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $232,320. The overall cost of living runs about 8% below the national average. Set against a $72,513 median income, cost of living beats 51% of counties.
Is Steuben County safe?
Yes, Steuben County is safer than 75% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $248 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Steuben County?
July highs average about 83 degrees, and January highs near 33 with lows near 21. That works out to about 77 pleasant days a year, more than 33% of counties.
What are the best neighborhoods in Steuben County?
Using the default rankings, the highest-scoring areas are Angola, Hamilton, and Fremont. The ranked list and the re-weightable map above let you re-sort them for your own priorities.
Compare Steuben County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Steuben County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Steuben 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.
Steuben County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Steuben County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Steuben County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Steuben County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Steuben County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Steuben 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.