Best Places62035, IL Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 62035, 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.
62035 ranks 13,199th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on what local pay buys by a wide margin, and the schools rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 62035
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.
62035's strengths and weaknesses
Where 62035 ranks high
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 90% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 87% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than 85% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than 82% of zip codes
- Internet speedBetter than 78% of zip codes
Where 62035 ranks low
- School gradeD−, better than only 3% of zip codes
- 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 6% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than only 14% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 62035
A household needs to earn about $55,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 62035 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $94,639, 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 62035's effective rate of 1.77%, 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 5 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 62035
62035 runs older than the country, and households here run smaller than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 62035.
Who works in 62035, and how
Work in 62035 centers on health care & social and manufacturing. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 81%
- Work from home 16%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in 62035
62035 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 93% of zip codes and more parkland per resident than 86% of zip codes. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 62035 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 62035, month by month
62035 sees roughly 86 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 62035
St Louis Lambert International sits about 16 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 62035
Schools across 62035 average a D−, better than 3% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Shipman Elem SchoolD+ · 25% proficient
- Grafton Elem SchoolD · 20% proficient
- North Elementary SchoolF · 10% 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 62035 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
62035 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 62035 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 62035
Is 62035 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 62035 ranks 13,199th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on what local pay buys, a stable housing market, and civic engagement, and lowest on the schools and state finances. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 62035 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $185,659. The overall cost of living runs about 20% below the national average. Set against a $94,639 median income, cost of living beats 90% of zip codes.
Is 62035 safe?
Yes, 62035 is safer than 56% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $242 per resident a year.
Compare 62035 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 62035. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 62035 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.
62035 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 62035: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 62035: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 62035: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 62035: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
62035 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.