Best Places62901, IL Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 62901, 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.
62901 ranks 30,861st of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on short commutes by a wide margin, and property taxes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 62901
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.
62901's strengths and weaknesses
Where 62901 ranks high
- Short commute16.4 minutes each way, better than 95% of zip codes
- Internet speedBetter than 92% of zip codes
- Educational attainmentBetter than 88% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than 87% of zip codes
- Cell coverageBetter than 84% of zip codes
Where 62901 ranks low
- Low property taxBetter than only 1% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 4% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 4% of zip codes
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 5% of zip codes
- School gradeD, better than only 6% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 62901
A household needs to earn about $49,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 62901 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $46,228; the gap is small, which keeps homes within reach of local pay.
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 62901's effective rate of 2.29%, 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 62901
62901 runs younger 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 62901.
Who works in 62901, and how
Work in 62901 centers on education and retail trade. Unemployment runs well above the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 73%
- Work from home 11%
- Transit, walk, or bike 16%
Life in 62901
62901 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 83% of zip codes and more parkland per resident than 98% of zip codes. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 62901 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 62901, month by month
62901 sees roughly 68 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 89 degrees. January highs sit near 43, with lows near 27. The comfortable stretch runs April, May, and August through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 43° | 34° | 27° |
| April | 69° | 57° | 47° |
| July | 89° | 78° | 70° |
| October | 72° | 59° | 48° |
Flying in and out of 62901
The nearest airport, Veterans Airport of Southern Illinois, is about 12 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is St Louis Lambert International, about 94 miles away.
The best schools in and around 62901
Schools across 62901 average a D, better than 6% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Giant City Elem SchoolB · 48% proficient
- Tri-c Elementary SchoolC · 33% proficient
- Unity Point Elem SchoolC− · 27% proficient
Top middle schools
- Carterville Intermediate SchC · 35% proficient
- Carbondale Middle SchoolF · 10% proficient
- Murphysboro Middle SchoolF · 5% proficient
Top high schools
- Carterville High SchoolC+ · 38% proficient
- Carbondale Comm H SC · 31% proficient
- Murphysboro High SchoolD− · 15% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 62901 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
62901 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 62901 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 62901 suits
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 11% already work from home.
Retirees
Set weather, quiet, and health care weights on the map to test the fit.
Common questions about living in 62901
Is 62901 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 62901 ranks 30,861st of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on short commutes, fast internet, and an educated workforce, and lowest on property taxes and state finances. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 62901 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $155,222. The overall cost of living runs about 14% below the national average. Set against a $46,228 median income, cost of living beats 7% of zip codes.
Is 62901 safe?
62901 is safer than 11% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $481 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 62901?
July highs average about 89 degrees, and January highs near 43 with lows near 27. That works out to about 68 pleasant days a year, more than 20% of zip codes.
Is 62901 good for families?
Schools beat 6% of zip codes, crime safety beats 11%, and childcare runs $1,071 a month.
Compare 62901 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 62901. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 62901 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.
62901 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 62901: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 62901: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 62901: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 62901: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
62901 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.