Best PlacesIndependence, IN Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Independence, 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.
Independence ranks 35,304th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on few empty homes by a wide margin, and noise is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Independence
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.
Independence's strengths and weaknesses
Where Independence ranks high
- Low vacancyBetter than 98% of towns
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 91% of towns
- State infrastructureBetter than 80% of towns
- Big-city accessBetter than 78% of towns
- Low property taxBetter than 70% of towns
Where Independence ranks low
- QuietBetter than only 2% of towns
- Internet speedBetter than only 6% of towns
- Cell coverageBetter than only 8% of towns
- BikingBetter than only 9% of towns
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 9% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Independence
A household needs to earn about $66,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Independence home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $74,155, 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 Independence's effective rate of 0.56%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Who lives in Independence
Independence runs older than the country, though fewer residents are over 65 than the national share.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Independence.
Who works in Independence, and how
Work in Independence centers on manufacturing and retail trade. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 95%
- Work from home 1%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in Independence
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Independence.
What the weather is like in Independence, month by month
Independence sees roughly 62 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 87 degrees. January highs sit near 38, with lows near 19. The comfortable stretch runs May through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 38° | 28° | 19° |
| April | 66° | 52° | 40° |
| July | 87° | 75° | 63° |
| October | 70° | 56° | 44° |
Flying in and out of Independence
The nearest airport, University of Illinois/Willard, is about 63 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Indianapolis International, about 64 miles away.
The best schools in and around Independence
Schools across Independence average a C+, better than 47% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Pine Village Elementary SchoolB · 48% proficient
- Attica Elementary SchoolD · 20% proficient
Top middle schools
- Klondike Middle SchoolA− · 52% proficient
- Southwestern Middle SchoolC− · 29% proficient
Top high schools
- Seeger Memorial Jr-sr High SchoolB− · 41% proficient
- Attica High SchoolC+ · 35% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Independence school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Independence 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 Independence against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Independence
Is Independence a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Independence ranks 35,304th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on few empty homes, cheap car insurance, and state infrastructure, and lowest on noise and internet speeds. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Independence expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $262,104. The overall cost of living runs about 12% below the national average. Set against a $74,155 median income, cost of living beats 52% of towns.
Is Independence safe?
Independence is safer than 51% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $260 per resident a year.
Compare Independence with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Independence. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Independence 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.
Independence detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Independence: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Independence: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Independence: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Independence: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Independence 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.