Best Places62264, IL Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 62264, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. This page is for people who live here or already know they want to. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
62264 ranks 22,888th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. The weather pulls hardest against it, while it scores best on health care access.
The best neighborhoods in 62264
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.
62264's strengths and weaknesses
Where 62264 ranks high
- Healthcare accessBetter than 78% of zip codes
- Cell coverageBetter than 78% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than 76% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than 75% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than 73% of zip codes
Where 62264 ranks low
- Nice weatherabout 49 pleasant days a year, better than only 1% 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 5% of zip codes
- Internet speedBetter than only 16% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 62264
A household needs to earn about $49,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 62264 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $68,098, 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 62264's effective rate of 1.86%, 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 7 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 62264
62264 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 62264.
Who works in 62264, and how
Work in 62264 centers on manufacturing and construction. Unemployment is low, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 92%
- Work from home 4%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in 62264
62264 has more parkland per resident than 97% of zip codes. That concentrates in some parts of 62264 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 62264, month by month
62264 sees roughly 49 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 89 degrees. January highs sit near 43, with lows near 25. The comfortable stretch runs April, May, and August through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 43° | 33° | 25° |
| April | 69° | 56° | 45° |
| July | 89° | 78° | 69° |
| October | 73° | 59° | 48° |
Flying in and out of 62264
The nearest airport, Scott AFB/Midamerica St Louis, is about 16 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is St Louis Lambert International, about 40 miles away.
The best schools in and around 62264
Schools across 62264 average a C, better than 38% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Smithton Elem SchoolB · 46% proficient
- New Athens ElemB · 45% proficient
- Gardner Elementary SchoolB · 45% proficient
Top middle schools
- New Athens Jr HighB+ · 48% proficient
- Freeburg Elem SchoolB · 45% proficient
Top high schools
- Waterloo High SchoolC+ · 35% proficient
- Freeburg Community High SchC− · 30% proficient
- Red Bud High SchoolD · 23% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 62264 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
62264 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 62264 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 62264
Is 62264 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 62264 ranks 22,888th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on health care access, cell coverage, and state infrastructure, and lowest on the weather and state finances. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 62264 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $162,888. The overall cost of living runs about 21% below the national average. Set against a $68,098 median income, cost of living beats 58% of zip codes.
Is 62264 safe?
62264 is safer than 36% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $288 per resident a year.
Compare 62264 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 62264. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 62264 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.
62264 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 62264: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 62264: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 62264: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 62264: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
62264 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.