Best PlacesWest Chester, OH Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around West Chester, 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 Chester ranks 233rd of 2,098 U.S. cities on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on few empty homes by a wide margin, and the weather ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in West Chester
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 Chester's strengths and weaknesses
Where West Chester ranks high
- Low vacancyBetter than 97% of cities
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 94% of cities
- School gradeA, better than 92% of cities
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 90% of cities
- Healthcare accessBetter than 88% of cities
Where West Chester ranks low
- Nice weatherabout 59 pleasant days a year, better than only 7% of cities
- WalkabilityBetter than only 20% of cities
- Internet speedBetter than only 24% of cities
- Low property taxBetter than only 26% of cities
- Air qualityBetter than only 26% of cities
What it costs to buy a home in West Chester
A household needs to earn about $101,000 a year to comfortably buy the median West Chester home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $125,623, 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 Chester's effective rate of 1.35%, 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 Chester
West Chester's age mix sits close to the national median.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for West Chester.
Who works in West Chester, and how
Work in West Chester centers on manufacturing and health care & social. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 78%
- Work from home 20%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in West Chester
West Chester has more restaurants and bars per resident than 87% of cities and more parkland per resident than 93% of cities. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of West Chester and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in West Chester, month by month
West Chester sees roughly 59 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 89 degrees. January highs sit near 43, with lows near 23. The comfortable stretch runs May, June, and August through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 43° | 32° | 23° |
| April | 69° | 54° | 41° |
| July | 89° | 76° | 64° |
| October | 72° | 57° | 43° |
Flying in and out of West Chester
Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International sits about 25 miles away. It is a medium hub and boarded 4.4 million passengers in 2025, with 99 nonstop destinations.
The best schools in and around West Chester
Schools across West Chester average an A, better than 92% of cities.
Top elementary schools
- Endeavor Elementary SchoolA+ · 78% proficient
- Union Elementary SchoolA · 70% proficient
- Freedom Elementary SchoolA · 69% proficient
Top middle schools
- Mason Middle SchoolA+ · 81% proficient
- Lakota Plains Junior SchoolA+ · 76% proficient
- Hopewell Junior SchoolA · 67% proficient
Top high schools
- William Mason High SchoolA+ · 82% proficient
- Lakota East High SchoolA · 71% proficient
- Lakota West High SchoolA · 70% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every West Chester school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
West Chester 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 Chester against the other 2,097 cities.
Who West Chester suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 90% of cities and 20% already work from home.
Common questions about living in West Chester
Is West Chester a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, West Chester ranks 233rd of 2,098 cities. It scores highest on few empty homes, cheap car insurance, and good schools, and lowest on the weather and walkability. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is West Chester expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $360,392. The overall cost of living runs about 9% below the national average. Set against a $125,623 median income, cost of living beats 90% of cities.
Is West Chester safe?
Yes, West Chester is safer than 64% of cities. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $247 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in West Chester?
July highs average about 89 degrees, and January highs near 43 with lows near 23. That works out to about 59 pleasant days a year, more than 7% of cities.
Is West Chester good for families?
Schools beat 92% of cities, crime safety beats 64%, and childcare runs $1,273 a month.
Compare West Chester with other cities
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to West Chester. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in West Chester 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 Chester detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for West Chester: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in West Chester: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of West Chester: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in West Chester: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
West Chester 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.