Best Places62012, IL Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 62012, 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.
62012 ranks 15,517th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. State finances pulls hardest against it, while it scores best on what local pay buys.
The best neighborhoods in 62012
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.
62012's strengths and weaknesses
Where 62012 ranks high
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 89% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 82% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than 82% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than 78% of zip codes
- Household income$96,260 median, better than 77% of zip codes
Where 62012 ranks low
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 4% of zip codes
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 5% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than only 10% of zip codes
- School gradeD+, better than only 15% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than only 16% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 62012
A household needs to earn about $54,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 62012 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $96,260, 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 62012's effective rate of 1.60%, 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 8 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 62012
62012 runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 62012.
Who works in 62012, and how
Work in 62012 centers on manufacturing and health care & social. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 86%
- Work from home 10%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in 62012
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 62012.
What the weather is like in 62012, month by month
62012 sees roughly 88 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 87 degrees. January highs sit near 39, with lows near 24. The comfortable stretch runs April through June and August through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 39° | 31° | 24° |
| April | 66° | 55° | 45° |
| July | 87° | 77° | 68° |
| October | 69° | 57° | 47° |
Flying in and out of 62012
St Louis Lambert International sits about 23 miles away. It is a medium hub and boarded 7.5 million passengers in 2025, with 114 nonstop destinations.
The best schools in and around 62012
Schools across 62012 average a D+, better than 15% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Shipman Elem SchoolD+ · 25% proficient
- Wolf Ridge Education CenterD− · 13% proficient
Top middle schools
- Jersey Community Middle SchoolC− · 30% proficient
- Southwestern Middle SchoolC− · 28% proficient
- Alton Middle SchoolF · 11% proficient
Top high schools
- Jersey Comm High SchoolC− · 27% proficient
- Alton High SchoolD · 23% proficient
- Southwestern High SchoolD · 23% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 62012 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
62012 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 62012 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 62012
Is 62012 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 62012 ranks 15,517th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on what local pay buys, a stable housing market, and civic engagement, and lowest on state finances and taxes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 62012 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $184,764. The overall cost of living runs about 19% below the national average. Set against a $96,260 median income, cost of living beats 89% of zip codes.
Is 62012 safe?
Yes, 62012 is safer than 78% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $190 per resident a year.
Compare 62012 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 62012. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 62012 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.
62012 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 62012: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 62012: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 62012: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 62012: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
62012 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.