Best PlacesWest Berlin, OH Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around West Berlin, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Local pay runs high here, and housing takes the biggest bite out of it. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
West Berlin ranks 87th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on what local pay buys by a wide margin, and property taxes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in West Berlin
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 Berlin's strengths and weaknesses
Where West Berlin ranks high
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 99% of towns
- Health outlookBetter than 99% of towns
- School gradeA+, better than 99% of towns
- Heat safetyBetter than 99% of towns
- Household income$174,549 median, better than 99% of towns
Where West Berlin ranks low
- Low property taxBetter than only 4% of towns
- Cheap childcare$1,273 a month, better than only 11% of towns
- QuietBetter than only 12% of towns
- Air qualityBetter than only 27% of towns
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 32% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in West Berlin
A household needs to earn about $148,000 a year to comfortably buy the median West Berlin home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $174,549, 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 Berlin's effective rate of 1.84%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices and rents, renting stays cheaper than buying across the first 10 years here, so the case for buying rests on staying much longer or on prices rising faster than assumed. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in West Berlin
West Berlin runs younger than the country, and households here run larger than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for West Berlin.
Who works in West Berlin, and how
Work in West Berlin centers on health care & social and finance & insurance. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 74%
- Work from home 24%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in West Berlin
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across West Berlin.
What the weather is like in West Berlin, month by month
West Berlin sees roughly 81 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 84 degrees. January highs sit near 36, with lows near 23. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 36° | 29° | 23° |
| April | 62° | 51° | 41° |
| July | 84° | 74° | 65° |
| October | 66° | 54° | 45° |
Flying in and out of West Berlin
John Glenn Columbus International sits about 18 miles away. It is a medium hub and boarded 4.4 million passengers in 2025, with 94 nonstop destinations.
The best schools in and around West Berlin
Schools across West Berlin average an A+, better than 99% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Cheshire ElementaryA+ · 83% proficient
- Arrowhead Elementary SchoolA+ · 82% proficient
- Johnnycake Corners Elementary SchoolA+ · 80% proficient
Top middle schools
- Olentangy Shanahan Middle SchoolA+ · 83% proficient
- Berkshire Middle SchoolA+ · 82% proficient
- John C Dempsey Middle SchoolA− · 58% proficient
Top high schools
- Olentangy High SchoolA+ · 87% proficient
- Olentangy Berlin High SchoolA+ · 83% proficient
- Rutherford B Hayes High SchoolB+ · 58% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every West Berlin school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
West Berlin 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 Berlin against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in West Berlin
Is West Berlin a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, West Berlin ranks 87th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on what local pay buys, population health, and good schools, and lowest on property taxes and childcare costs. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is West Berlin expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $497,377. The overall cost of living runs about 10% below the national average. Set against a $174,549 median income, cost of living beats 100% of towns.
Is West Berlin safe?
Yes, West Berlin is safer than 74% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $208 per resident a year.
Compare West Berlin with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to West Berlin. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in West Berlin 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 Berlin detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for West Berlin: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in West Berlin: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of West Berlin: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in West Berlin: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
West Berlin 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.