Best PlacesWest Terre Haute, IN Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around West Terre Haute, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Several measures below read low, and the ranked lists name which ones. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
West Terre Haute ranks 32,487th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on transit by a wide margin, and the weather ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in West Terre Haute
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 Terre Haute's strengths and weaknesses
Where West Terre Haute ranks high
- TransitBetter than 90% of towns
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 86% of towns
- WalkabilityBetter than 85% of towns
- BikingBetter than 84% of towns
- State infrastructureBetter than 80% of towns
Where West Terre Haute ranks low
- Nice weatherabout 56 pleasant days a year, better than only 4% of towns
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 9% of towns
- QuietBetter than only 12% of towns
- Air qualityBetter than only 12% of towns
- Crime safetyBetter than only 19% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in West Terre Haute
A household needs to earn about $43,000 a year to comfortably buy the median West Terre Haute home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $69,054, 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 Terre Haute's effective rate of 0.86%, 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 6 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 Terre Haute
West Terre Haute'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 Terre Haute.
Who works in West Terre Haute, and how
Work in West Terre Haute 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 83%
- Work from home 7%
- Transit, walk, or bike 10%
Life in West Terre Haute
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across West Terre Haute.
What the weather is like in West Terre Haute, month by month
West Terre Haute sees roughly 56 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 88 degrees. January highs sit near 41, with lows near 21. The comfortable stretch runs May, June, and August through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 41° | 31° | 21° |
| April | 68° | 54° | 41° |
| July | 88° | 77° | 65° |
| October | 72° | 57° | 44° |
Flying in and out of West Terre Haute
The nearest airport, University of Illinois/Willard, is about 57 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Indianapolis International, about 64 miles away.
The best schools in and around West Terre Haute
Schools across West Terre Haute average a C, better than 39% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Fayette Elementary SchoolB · 50% proficient
- Sugar Creek Consolidated Elem SchC · 32% proficient
- Blanche E Fuqua Elementary SchoolC− · 28% proficient
Top middle schools
- West Vigo Middle SchoolD · 22% proficient
- Otter Creek Middle SchoolD · 20% proficient
- Sarah Scott Middle SchoolD− · 15% proficient
Top high schools
- Terre Haute South Vigo High SchoolB · 49% proficient
- Terre Haute North Vigo High SchoolB− · 42% proficient
- West Vigo High SchoolB− · 42% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every West Terre Haute school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
West Terre Haute 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 Terre Haute against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in West Terre Haute
Is West Terre Haute a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, West Terre Haute ranks 32,487th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on transit, cheap car insurance, and walkability, and lowest on the weather and taxes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is West Terre Haute expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $162,188. The overall cost of living runs about 11% below the national average. Set against a $69,054 median income, cost of living beats 42% of towns.
Is West Terre Haute safe?
West Terre Haute is safer than 19% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $438 per resident a year.
Compare West Terre Haute with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to West Terre Haute. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in West Terre Haute 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 Terre Haute detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for West Terre Haute: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in West Terre Haute: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of West Terre Haute: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in West Terre Haute: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
West Terre Haute 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.