Indianapolis

Best Indianapolis suburbs for schools

Ranked almost entirely on the Schools category — within-state proficiency, student–teacher ratio, graduation rate and schools nearby — with the two poll questions about children and teenagers at 20% once a place has enough responses.

Updated Sep 2026·23 suburbs considered, 10 listed
1
The Palladium at The Center for the Performing Arts in Carmel, IN.
Carmel$487k median · 24.6 min commute
Schools ACost of living CResidents inactive
89
Schools score
overall 77 B
2
Speedway, IN
Speedway$229k median · 22.0 min commute
Schools ACost of living B+Residents inactive
89
Schools score
overall 67 C+
3
The Arbuckle, Brownsburg, IN
Brownsburg$309k median · 24.2 min commute
Schools ACost of living B−Residents inactive
88
Schools score
overall 71 B−
4
Westfield, IN
Westfield$426k median · 25.1 min commute
Schools A−Cost of living C+Residents inactive
86
Schools score
overall 71 B−
5
Downtown Noblesville view of the Hamilton County courthouse.
Noblesville$350k median · 26.6 min commute
Schools A−Cost of living C+Residents inactive
84
Schools score
overall 68 B−
6
Avon Haunted Bridge in Washington Township Park
Avon$324k median · 23.1 min commute
Schools A−Cost of living C+Residents inactive
84
Schools score
overall 68 B−
7
Aerial view of Geist Reservoir and surrounding housing developments in Indianapolis suburb of Fishers, Indiana, United States.
Fishers$391k median · 26.7 min commute
Schools A−Cost of living CResidents inactive
83
Schools score
overall 70 B−
8
Looking north along Main Street in the town of Zionsville, Indiana.
Zionsville$588k median · 22.7 min commute
Schools B+Cost of living C−Residents inactive
82
Schools score
overall 69 B−
9
Photo from Small Town Indiana photo survey.
McCordsville$345k median · 31.9 min commute
Schools B+Cost of living BResidents inactive
80
Schools score
overall 65 C+
10
Downtown Plainfield, Indiana.
Plainfield$281k median · 22.8 min commute
Schools B+Cost of living B−Residents inactive
78
Schools score
overall 67 C+
This list's weighting
Schools 80%Resident poll (Q5, Q6) 20%

Poll components only count for places with eight or more resident responses; for the others the remaining weights re-normalise to 100%.

Other Indianapolis lists
Best Indianapolis suburbs for familiesMost affordable Indianapolis suburbsShortest commutes to Downtown CarmelMost walkable Indianapolis suburbsBest Indianapolis suburbs for young professionalsHow we score Indianapolis suburbs →

Photos from Wikimedia Commons: Carmel (TheSongbook · CC BY-SA 3.0); Speedway (Wikimedia Commons · Public domain); Brownsburg (Michaeldavisson · CC0); Westfield (Wikimedia Commons · CC BY 2.5); Noblesville (Unknown authorUnknown author · CC0); Avon (Michaeldavisson · CC BY-SA 4.0); Fishers (Carol M. Highsmith · Public domain); Zionsville (Huw Williams (Huwmanbeing) · Public domain); McCordsville (Chris Flook · CC BY-SA 4.0); Plainfield (Eric Wood · CC BY-SA 3.0).