Best PlacesHammond, IL Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Hammond, 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.
Hammond ranks 33,491st of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on a stable housing market by a wide margin, and a weak job market ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Hammond
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.
Hammond's strengths and weaknesses
Where Hammond ranks high
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 90% of towns
- Cell coverageBetter than 81% of towns
- State infrastructureBetter than 77% of towns
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 74% of towns
- BikingBetter than 70% of towns
Where Hammond ranks low
- Local economyBetter than only 2% of towns
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 3% of towns
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 4% of towns
- Low property taxBetter than only 5% of towns
- School gradeD+, better than only 10% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Hammond
A household needs to earn about $33,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Hammond home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $81,214, 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 Hammond's effective rate of 1.78%, 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 7 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Hammond
Hammond 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 Hammond.
Who works in Hammond, and how
Work in Hammond centers on construction and manufacturing. Unemployment runs well above the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 90%
- Work from home 8%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in Hammond
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Hammond.
What the weather is like in Hammond, month by month
Hammond 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 Hammond
The nearest airport, Decatur, is about 14 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is St Louis Lambert International, about 119 miles away.
The best schools in and around Hammond
Schools across Hammond average a D+, better than 10% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Sullivan Elem SchoolC+ · 38% proficient
- Cerro Gordo Elem SchoolC · 33% proficient
- Atwood-hammond Grade SchoolD+ · 25% proficient
Top middle schools
- Bement Middle SchoolC− · 30% proficient
- Sullivan Middle SchoolD− · 17% proficient
Top high schools
- Cerro Gordo Jr And Sr High SchC+ · 35% proficient
- Arthur-lovington-atwood-hammondD+ · 25% proficient
- Sullivan High SchoolD · 23% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Hammond school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Hammond 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 Hammond against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Hammond
Is Hammond a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Hammond ranks 33,491st of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on a stable housing market, cell coverage, and state infrastructure, and lowest on a weak job market and taxes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Hammond expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $110,210. The overall cost of living runs about 18% below the national average. Set against a $81,214 median income, cost of living beats 74% of towns.
Is Hammond safe?
Yes, Hammond is safer than 62% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $209 per resident a year.
Compare Hammond with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Hammond. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Hammond 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.
Hammond detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Hammond: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Hammond: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Hammond: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Hammond: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Hammond 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.