Best Places62864, IL Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 62864, 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.
62864 ranks 26,470th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on fast internet by a wide margin, and the schools rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 62864
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.
62864's strengths and weaknesses
Where 62864 ranks high
- Internet speedBetter than 95% of zip codes
- Short commute16.5 minutes each way, better than 94% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 88% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than 76% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than 67% of zip codes
Where 62864 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 8% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than only 12% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 62864
A household needs to earn about $39,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 62864 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $60,301, 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 62864's effective rate of 1.72%, 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 62864
62864 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 62864.
Who works in 62864, and how
Work in 62864 centers on manufacturing and health care & social. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 93%
- Work from home 5%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in 62864
62864 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 74% of zip codes and more parkland per resident than 88% of zip codes. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 62864 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 62864, month by month
62864 sees roughly 75 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 90 degrees. January highs sit near 42, 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 | 42° | 32° | 24° |
| April | 69° | 56° | 44° |
| July | 90° | 78° | 67° |
| October | 72° | 58° | 45° |
Flying in and out of 62864
The nearest airport, Veterans Airport of Southern Illinois, is about 40 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is St Louis Lambert International, about 84 miles away.
The best schools in and around 62864
Schools across 62864 average a D−, better than 3% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Summersville Grade SchoolC+ · 38% proficient
- Mcclellan Elementary SchoolC · 31% proficient
- Farrington Elem SchoolC− · 30% proficient
Top middle schools
- Spring Garden Middle SchoolD− · 18% proficient
- Zadok Casey Middle SchoolF · 8% proficient
Top high schools
- Woodlawn High SchoolD− · 16% proficient
- Waltonville High SchoolD− · 16% proficient
- Mount Vernon High SchoolD− · 15% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 62864 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
62864 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 62864 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 62864 suits
Families
Schools land around the 3rd percentile and crime safety beats 62%.
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 5% already work from home.
Retirees
Set weather, quiet, and health care weights on the map to test the fit.
Common questions about living in 62864
Is 62864 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 62864 ranks 26,470th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on fast internet, short commutes, and a stable housing market, 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 62864 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $132,134. The overall cost of living runs about 13% below the national average. Set against a $60,301 median income, cost of living beats 27% of zip codes.
Is 62864 safe?
Yes, 62864 is safer than 62% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $235 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 62864?
July highs average about 90 degrees, and January highs near 42 with lows near 24. That works out to about 75 pleasant days a year, more than 36% of zip codes.
Is 62864 good for families?
Schools beat 3% of zip codes, crime safety beats 62%, and childcare runs $1,009 a month.
Compare 62864 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 62864. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 62864 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.
62864 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 62864: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 62864: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 62864: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 62864: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
62864 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.