Best PlacesHistoric West-Side, Springfield, IL Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Historic West-Side, Springfield, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. This page is for people who live here or already know they want to. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Historic West-Side, Springfield ranks 2,598th of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods 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 Historic West-Side, Springfield
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.
Historic West-Side, Springfield's strengths and weaknesses
Where Historic West-Side, Springfield ranks high
- Short commute15.3 minutes each way, better than 97% of neighborhoods
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 89% of neighborhoods
- TransitBetter than 82% of neighborhoods
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 81% of neighborhoods
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 80% of neighborhoods
Where Historic West-Side, Springfield ranks low
- Low property taxBetter than only 1% of neighborhoods
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 4% of neighborhoods
- Big-city accessBetter than only 8% of neighborhoods
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 10% of neighborhoods
- Nice weatherabout 62 pleasant days a year, better than only 11% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in Historic West-Side, Springfield
A household needs to earn about $44,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Historic West-Side, Springfield home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $88,326, 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 Historic West-Side, Springfield's effective rate of 2.30%, 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 Historic West-Side, Springfield
Historic West-Side, Springfield's age mix sits close to the national median, 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 Historic West-Side, Springfield.
Who works in Historic West-Side, Springfield, and how
Work in Historic West-Side, Springfield centers on health care & social and public administration. Unemployment is low, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 79%
- Work from home 14%
- Transit, walk, or bike 7%
Life in Historic West-Side, Springfield
Historic West-Side, Springfield has more parkland per resident than 96% of neighborhoods. That concentrates in some parts of Historic West-Side, Springfield and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Historic West-Side, Springfield, month by month
Historic West-Side, Springfield sees roughly 62 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 | 66° | 54° | 44° |
| July | 87° | 77° | 68° |
| October | 69° | 57° | 47° |
Flying in and out of Historic West-Side, Springfield
The nearest airport, Abraham Lincoln Capital, is about 3 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is St Louis Lambert International, about 81 miles away.
The best schools in and around Historic West-Side, Springfield
Schools across Historic West-Side, Springfield average a D+, better than 21% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Butler Elem SchoolD− · 15% proficient
- Elizabeth Graham Elem SchoolF · 8% proficient
- Dubois Elem SchoolF · 3% proficient
Top middle schools
- Benjamin Franklin Middle SchoolD+ · 27% proficient
- U S Grant Middle SchoolF · 11% proficient
Top high schools
- Springfield High SchoolB · 49% proficient
- Springfield Southeast High SchD− · 18% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Historic West-Side, Springfield school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Historic West-Side, Springfield 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 Historic West-Side, Springfield against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in Historic West-Side, Springfield
Is Historic West-Side, Springfield a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Historic West-Side, Springfield ranks 2,598th of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on short commutes, a stable housing market, and transit, 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 Historic West-Side, Springfield expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $139,761. The overall cost of living runs about 18% below the national average. Set against a $88,326 median income, cost of living beats 80% of neighborhoods.
Is Historic West-Side, Springfield safe?
Historic West-Side, Springfield is safer than 41% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $408 per resident a year.
Compare Historic West-Side, Springfield with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Historic West-Side, Springfield. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Historic West-Side, Springfield 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.
Historic West-Side, Springfield detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Historic West-Side, Springfield: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Historic West-Side, Springfield: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Historic West-Side, Springfield: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Historic West-Side, Springfield: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Historic West-Side, Springfield 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.