Best PlacesWest Baden Springs, IN Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around West Baden Springs, 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.
West Baden Springs ranks 22,898th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on heat safety by a wide margin, and education levels rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in West Baden Springs
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.
West Baden Springs' strengths and weaknesses
Where West Baden Springs ranks high
- Heat safetyBetter than 95% of towns
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 89% of towns
- Nice weatherabout 124 pleasant days a year, better than 82% of towns
- Tree shadeBetter than 80% of towns
- State infrastructureBetter than 80% of towns
Where West Baden Springs ranks low
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 9% of towns
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 18% of towns
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 19% of towns
- Health outlookBetter than only 22% of towns
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 27% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in West Baden Springs
A household needs to earn about $43,000 a year to comfortably buy the median West Baden Springs home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $69,147, 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 West Baden Springs' effective rate of 0.71%, 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 West Baden Springs
West Baden Springs 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 West Baden Springs.
Who works in West Baden Springs, and how
Work in West Baden Springs centers on hospitality & food and manufacturing. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 89%
- Work from home 7%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in West Baden Springs
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across West Baden Springs.
What the weather is like in West Baden Springs, month by month
West Baden Springs sees roughly 124 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 85 degrees. January highs sit near 40, with lows near 25. The comfortable stretch runs April through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 40° | 32° | 25° |
| April | 66° | 55° | 46° |
| July | 85° | 75° | 68° |
| October | 69° | 58° | 49° |
Flying in and out of West Baden Springs
The nearest airport, Louisville Muhammad Ali International, is about 55 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Indianapolis International, about 81 miles away.
The best schools in and around West Baden Springs
Schools across West Baden Springs average a C, better than 31% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Throop Elementary SchoolC+ · 36% proficient
- Springs Valley Elementary SchoolC · 35% proficient
- Shoals Community Elementary SchoolC− · 30% proficient
Top middle schools
- Loogootee Middle SchoolB− · 39% proficient
- Shoals Middle SchoolD · 22% proficient
Top high schools
- Springs Valley Comm High SchoolC+ · 38% proficient
- Paoli Jr & Sr High SchoolC · 33% proficient
- Shoals Community High SchoolD+ · 24% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every West Baden Springs school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
West Baden Springs 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 West Baden Springs against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in West Baden Springs
Is West Baden Springs a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, West Baden Springs ranks 22,898th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on heat safety, cheap car insurance, and the weather, and lowest on education levels and taxes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is West Baden Springs expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $165,198. The overall cost of living runs about 12% below the national average. Set against a $69,147 median income, cost of living beats 42% of towns.
Is West Baden Springs safe?
Yes, West Baden Springs is safer than 77% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $204 per resident a year.
Compare West Baden Springs with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to West Baden Springs. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in West Baden Springs 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.
West Baden Springs detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for West Baden Springs: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in West Baden Springs: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of West Baden Springs: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in West Baden Springs: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
West Baden Springs 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.