Best PlacesConfidence, IL Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Confidence, 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.
Confidence ranks 42,519th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. Taxes pulls hardest against it, while it scores best on state infrastructure.
The best neighborhoods in Confidence
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.
Confidence's strengths and weaknesses
Where Confidence ranks high
- State infrastructureBetter than 77% of towns
- Local economyBetter than 71% of towns
- Cheap childcare$688 a month, better than 67% of towns
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 62% of towns
- Short commute25.2 minutes each way, better than 61% of towns
Where Confidence ranks low
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 3% of towns
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 4% of towns
- Nice weatherabout 57 pleasant days a year, better than only 5% of towns
- School gradeD+, better than only 10% of towns
- Internet speedBetter than only 12% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Confidence
A household needs to earn about $40,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Confidence home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $61,468, 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 Confidence's effective rate of 1.23%, 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 6 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Confidence
Confidence runs younger than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Confidence.
Who works in Confidence, and how
Work in Confidence centers on manufacturing and retail trade. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 98%
- Work from home 1%
- Transit, walk, or bike 1%
Life in Confidence
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Confidence.
What the weather is like in Confidence, month by month
Confidence sees roughly 57 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 87 degrees. January highs sit near 39, with lows near 25. The comfortable stretch runs April through June and August through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 39° | 31° | 25° |
| April | 66° | 55° | 45° |
| July | 87° | 77° | 68° |
| October | 69° | 57° | 48° |
Flying in and out of Confidence
The nearest airport, Decatur, is about 54 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is St Louis Lambert International, about 78 miles away.
The best schools in and around Confidence
Schools across Confidence average a D+, better than 10% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Ramsey Elem SchoolC+ · 38% proficient
- Vandalia Elementary SchoolC− · 28% proficient
- Brownstown Elem SchoolD · 18% proficient
Top middle schools
- Brownstown Jr High SchoolC+ · 36% proficient
- Vandalia Junior High SchoolD · 19% proficient
Top high schools
- Ramsey High SchoolC− · 28% proficient
- Vandalia Community High SchoolD− · 18% proficient
- Brownstown High SchoolF · 10% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Confidence school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Confidence 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 Confidence against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Confidence
Is Confidence a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Confidence ranks 42,519th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on state infrastructure, a strong job market, and affordable childcare, and lowest on 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 Confidence expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $144,600. The overall cost of living runs about 16% below the national average. Set against a $61,468 median income, cost of living beats 33% of towns.
Is Confidence safe?
Confidence is safer than 35% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $283 per resident a year.
Compare Confidence with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Confidence. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Confidence 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.
Confidence detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Confidence: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Confidence: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Confidence: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Confidence: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Confidence 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.