Best PlacesHardin County, IL Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Hardin County, 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.
Hardin County ranks 3,002nd of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on a stable housing market by a wide margin, and the schools rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Hardin County
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.
Hardin County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Hardin County ranks high
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 96% of counties
- QuietBetter than 95% of counties
- Tree shadeBetter than 91% of counties
- Voter turnoutBetter than 82% of counties
- State infrastructureBetter than 72% of counties
Where Hardin County ranks low
- School gradeD−, better than only 1% of counties
- Nice weatherabout 53 pleasant days a year, better than only 1% of counties
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 2% of counties
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 3% of counties
- Internet speedBetter than only 3% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Hardin County
A household needs to earn about $27,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Hardin County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $52,319, 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 Hardin County's effective rate of 0.96%, 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 Hardin County
Hardin County 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 Hardin County.
Who works in Hardin County, and how
Work in Hardin County centers on health care & social and retail trade. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 89%
- Work from home 4%
- Transit, walk, or bike 7%
Life in Hardin County
Hardin County has more restaurants and bars per resident than 98% of counties. That concentrates in some parts of Hardin County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Hardin County growing, and who is moving in?
Hardin County has lost about 14% of its population over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Terre Haute, IN.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Hardin County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Hardin County, month by month
Hardin County sees roughly 53 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 Hardin County
The nearest airport, Barkley Regional, is about 39 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Nashville International, about 130 miles away.
The best schools in and around Hardin County
Schools across Hardin County average a D−, better than 1% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- North Livingston Elementary SchoolD+ · 24% proficient
- Hardin County Elem SchoolD− · 15% proficient
Top middle schools
- Livingston County Middle SchoolC · 35% proficient
- Hardin County Jr High SchoolF · 6% proficient
Top high schools
- Livingston Central High SchoolD · 22% proficient
- Hardin County High SchoolD− · 13% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Hardin County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Hardin County 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 Hardin County against the other 3,143 counties.
Common questions about living in Hardin County
Is Hardin County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Hardin County ranks 3,002nd of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on a stable housing market, quiet, and tree cover, and lowest on the schools and the weather. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Hardin County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $102,711. The overall cost of living runs about 16% below the national average. Set against a $52,319 median income, cost of living beats 11% of counties.
Is Hardin County safe?
Hardin County is safer than 27% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $329 per resident a year.
Compare Hardin County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Hardin County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Hardin County 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.
Hardin County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Hardin County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Hardin County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Hardin County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Hardin County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Hardin County 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.
- U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program: population growth and net migration behind the population-change section.
- 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.