Best PlacesDiamond City, IL Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Diamond City, 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.
Diamond City ranks 34,481st of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on a stable housing market by a wide margin, and the weather ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Diamond City
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.
Diamond City's strengths and weaknesses
Where Diamond City ranks high
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 99% of towns
- Internet speedBetter than 86% of towns
- Cheap childcare$559 a month, better than 86% of towns
- Voter turnoutBetter than 77% of towns
- State infrastructureBetter than 77% of towns
Where Diamond City ranks low
- Nice weatherabout 51 pleasant days a year, better than only 1% of towns
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 3% of towns
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 4% of towns
- School gradeD+, better than only 17% of towns
- Low property taxBetter than only 19% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Diamond City
A household needs to earn about $40,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Diamond City home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $67,462, 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 Diamond City's effective rate of 1.20%, 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 Diamond City
Diamond City 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 Diamond City.
Who works in Diamond City, and how
Work in Diamond City centers on health care & social and retail trade. Unemployment is low, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 93%
- Work from home 2%
- Transit, walk, or bike 5%
Life in Diamond City
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Diamond City.
What the weather is like in Diamond City, month by month
Diamond City sees roughly 51 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 88 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° | 56° | 46° |
| July | 88° | 78° | 69° |
| October | 72° | 59° | 49° |
Flying in and out of Diamond City
The nearest airport, Veterans Airport of Southern Illinois, is about 32 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is St Louis Lambert International, about 108 miles away.
The best schools in and around Diamond City
Schools across Diamond City average a D+, better than 17% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- East Side Elementary SchoolC− · 30% proficient
Top high schools
- Hamilton County Jr/sr High SchoolD+ · 24% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Diamond City school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Diamond City 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 Diamond City against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Diamond City
Is Diamond City a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Diamond City ranks 34,481st of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on a stable housing market, fast internet, and affordable childcare, and lowest on the weather and taxes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Diamond City expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $146,184. The overall cost of living runs about 18% below the national average. Set against a $67,462 median income, cost of living beats 58% of towns.
Is Diamond City safe?
Diamond City is safer than 51% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $234 per resident a year.
Compare Diamond City with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Diamond City. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Diamond City 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.
Diamond City detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Diamond City: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Diamond City: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Diamond City: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Diamond City: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Diamond City 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.