When you map the highly-rated public schools in Indianapolis, you find an odd quirk: A line of schools to the north of town that almost seem lined up west-to-east on purpose. This northern line is the largest concentration of top-rated schools in the Indianapolis area and runs (roughly) from Zionsville to east of Fishers.
If the northern line doesn't appeal, there is also a cluster of highly-rated schools to the south of Indianapolis, and a few good schools scattered elsewhere, all providing alternatives. Indianapolis isn't a city where parents are “stuck” with only one part of town if they'd like to find good public schools.
Since Indianapolis has a healthy distribution of highly-rated schools, we will use average property rent and school ratings to identify individual properties throughout the area that are our picks to provide the best value for each grade level.
Viewing school ratings by neighborhood allows us to find the areas with superb overall schools, rather than just identifying one-off instances of an individually exemplary school. Going by overall average school rating, the top neighborhood in Indianapolis is Downtown Fishers.
| Neighborhood Rank | Neighborhood | Neighborhood City and State | Avg. School Rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Downtown Fishers | Fishers, IN | 9.3 |
| 2 | Woodland Springs | Carmel, IN | 9.0 |
| 3 | Five Points | Indianapolis, IN | 8.0 |
| 4 | I-65-South Emerson | Indianapolis, IN | 8.0 |
| 5 | North Side | Indianapolis, IN | 8.0 |
| 6 | Southeast Indianapolis | Indianapolis, IN | 8.0 |
| 7 | Pebble Brook | Noblesville, IN | 7.3 |
| 8 | Irvington | Indianapolis, IN | 7.0 |
| 9 | Southside | Indianapolis, IN | 6.9 |
| 10 | Edgewood | Indianapolis, IN | 6.0 |
Having looked at the best overall neighborhoods, we now look to find the best individual properties near the best schools at the elementary, middle and high school level. Click on any location circle in our interactive maps to pull up info on properties for that location.
| Value Rank | Property Name | Location | Avg. Rent | Avg. School Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pangea Parkwest Apartments | Indianapolis, IN | $565 | 7.0 |
| 2 | Stonebrook of Franklin | Franklin, IN | $688 | 8.0 |
| 3 | Cana Apartments | Noblesville, IN | $775 | 9.0 |
| 4 | Lions Creek At Morse Lake | Noblesville, IN | $803 | 9.0 |
| 5 | St. Andrews | Greenwood, IN | $823 | 9.0 |
| 6 | Lakeview Court Apartments | Noblesville, IN | $843 | 9.0 |
| 7 | Mission Hills | Franklin, IN | $854 | 9.0 |
| 8 | Sandstone Court | Greenwood, IN | $689 | 7.0 |
| 9 | Pangea Vistas | Warren Park, IN | $594 | 6.0 |
| 10 | Brookwood | Indianapolis, IN | $694 | 7.0 |
| Value Rank | Property Name | Location | Avg. Rent | Avg. School Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Deer Chase Apartments | Fishers, IN | $723 | 10.0 |
| 2 | Hamilton Square | Westfield, IN | $812 | 9.0 |
| 3 | Beech Grove Village Apartments | Indianapolis, IN | $653 | 7.0 |
| 4 | Princeton Lakes | Noblesville, IN | $683 | 7.0 |
| 5 | The Landings At 56th | Indianapolis, IN | $685 | 7.0 |
| 6 | Stonebrook of Franklin | Franklin, IN | $688 | 7.0 |
| 7 | Park View At Beech Grove Apartments | Indianapolis, IN | $688 | 7.0 |
| 8 | Sandstone Court | Greenwood, IN | $689 | 7.0 |
| 9 | Brookwood | Indianapolis, IN | $694 | 7.0 |
| 10 | Cloverleaf Apartments | Indianapolis, IN | $601 | 6.0 |
| Value Rank | Property Name | Location | Avg. Rent | Avg. School Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Stratford Place | Indianapolis, IN | $601 | 8.0 |
| 2 | Deer Chase Apartments | Noblesville, IN | $723 | 9.0 |
| 3 | Hamilton Square | Westfield, IN | $812 | 10.0 |
| 4 | Princeton Lakes | Noblesville, IN | $683 | 8.0 |
| 5 | Carmel Hills | Carmel, IN | $858 | 10.0 |
| 6 | Sandstone Court | Greenwood, IN | $689 | 8.0 |
| 7 | Main Street On The Monon Apartments | Carmel, IN | $938 | 10.0 |
| 8 | Polo Run | Greenwood, IN | $752 | 8.0 |
| 9 | Cana Apartments | Noblesville, IN | $775 | 8.0 |
| 10 | Hunters Point | Zionsville, IN | $995 | 10.0 |
Jared is a Baton Rouge, La.-based freelance journalist focused on, in his words, "finding data, 'interviewing it' and then telling its story through interactive tools and traditional journalism." His past work includes analyzing pension shortfalls, looking at election results, tracking campaign finance contributions and analyzing educational and school system data. Some of his work has previously appeared on The Daily Advocate and unfundedmichigan.org.