Best PlacesWest Jefferson, OH Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around West Jefferson, 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 Jefferson ranks 5,920th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on cheap car insurance by a wide margin, and air quality ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in West Jefferson
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 Jefferson's strengths and weaknesses
Where West Jefferson ranks high
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 96% of towns
- Cell coverageBetter than 96% of towns
- Low vacancyBetter than 92% of towns
- WalkabilityBetter than 90% of towns
- Crime safetyBetter than 88% of towns
Where West Jefferson ranks low
- Air qualityBetter than only 18% of towns
- QuietBetter than only 22% of towns
- Low property taxBetter than only 24% of towns
- Cheap childcare$960 a month, better than only 27% of towns
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 32% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in West Jefferson
A household needs to earn about $62,000 a year to comfortably buy the median West Jefferson home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $82,992, 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 Jefferson's effective rate of 1.12%, 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 Jefferson
West Jefferson runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for West Jefferson.
Who works in West Jefferson, and how
Work in West Jefferson centers on manufacturing and retail trade. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 80%
- Work from home 17%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in West Jefferson
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across West Jefferson.
What the weather is like in West Jefferson, month by month
West Jefferson sees roughly 78 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 84 degrees. January highs sit near 37, with lows near 23. The comfortable stretch runs May through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 37° | 30° | 23° |
| April | 63° | 52° | 42° |
| July | 84° | 75° | 66° |
| October | 67° | 56° | 46° |
Flying in and out of West Jefferson
The nearest airport, Rickenbacker International, is about 21 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is John Glenn Columbus International, about 21 miles away.
The best schools in and around West Jefferson
Schools across West Jefferson average a B+, better than 78% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Norwood Elementary SchoolA · 68% proficient
- Madison-plains Elementary SchoolB+ · 55% proficient
- London Elementary SchoolB+ · 54% proficient
Top middle schools
- Canaan Middle SchoolA+ · 70% proficient
- Hilliard Memorial Middle SchoolA · 66% proficient
- Madison-plains Intermediate SchoolA · 62% proficient
Top high schools
- Jonathan Alder High SchoolA · 73% proficient
- Madison-plains High SchoolA− · 63% proficient
- Hilliard Bradley High SchoolA− · 62% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every West Jefferson school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
West Jefferson 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 Jefferson against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in West Jefferson
Is West Jefferson a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, West Jefferson ranks 5,920th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on cheap car insurance, cell coverage, and few empty homes, and lowest on air quality and noise. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is West Jefferson expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $227,466. The overall cost of living runs about 14% below the national average. Set against a $82,992 median income, cost of living beats 74% of towns.
Is West Jefferson safe?
Yes, West Jefferson is safer than 88% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $171 per resident a year.
Compare West Jefferson with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to West Jefferson. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in West Jefferson 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 Jefferson detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for West Jefferson: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in West Jefferson: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of West Jefferson: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in West Jefferson: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
West Jefferson 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.