Best Places62521, IL Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 62521, 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.
62521 ranks 23,281st of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. The schools pulls hardest against it, while it scores best on short commutes.
The best neighborhoods in 62521
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.
62521's strengths and weaknesses
Where 62521 ranks high
- Short commute18.9 minutes each way, better than 89% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 87% of zip codes
- Cell coverageBetter than 82% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than 76% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than 76% of zip codes
Where 62521 ranks low
- School gradeD−, better than only 2% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than only 4% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 4% of zip codes
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 5% of zip codes
- Local economyBetter than only 18% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 62521
A household needs to earn about $38,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 62521 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $70,141, 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 62521's effective rate of 1.99%, 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 62521
62521 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 62521.
Who works in 62521, and how
Work in 62521 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 9%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in 62521
62521 has more parkland per resident than 92% of zip codes. That concentrates in some parts of 62521 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 62521, month by month
62521 sees roughly 72 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 87 degrees. January highs sit near 37, with lows near 22. The comfortable stretch runs May, June, and August through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 37° | 29° | 22° |
| April | 65° | 53° | 43° |
| July | 87° | 77° | 67° |
| October | 69° | 57° | 47° |
Flying in and out of 62521
The nearest airport, Decatur, is about 3 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is St Louis Lambert International, about 107 miles away.
The best schools in and around 62521
Schools across 62521 average a D−, better than 2% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Mt Zion Elem SchoolB− · 43% proficient
- Cerro Gordo Elem SchoolC · 33% proficient
- Mt Zion Intermediate SchoolC− · 29% proficient
Top middle schools
- Mt Zion Jr High SchoolC · 32% proficient
- Meridian Middle SchoolD+ · 24% proficient
- Warrensburg-latham Middle SchD · 21% proficient
Top high schools
- Mt Zion High SchoolC+ · 40% proficient
- Cerro Gordo Jr And Sr High SchC+ · 35% proficient
- Warrensburg-latham High SchoolC− · 28% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 62521 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
62521 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 62521 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 62521 suits
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 9% already work from home.
Retirees
Set weather, quiet, and health care weights on the map to test the fit.
Common questions about living in 62521
Is 62521 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 62521 ranks 23,281st of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on short commutes, a stable housing market, and cell coverage, and lowest on the schools and property taxes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 62521 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $123,668. The overall cost of living runs about 24% below the national average. Set against a $70,141 median income, cost of living beats 69% of zip codes.
Is 62521 safe?
62521 is safer than 28% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $354 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 62521?
July highs average about 87 degrees, and January highs near 37 with lows near 22. That works out to about 72 pleasant days a year, more than 28% of zip codes.
Is 62521 good for families?
Schools beat 2% of zip codes, crime safety beats 28%, and childcare runs $1,009 a month.
Compare 62521 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 62521. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 62521 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.
62521 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 62521: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 62521: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 62521: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 62521: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
62521 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.