Best PlacesJackson County, IL Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Jackson 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.
Jackson County ranks 2,870th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on fast internet by a wide margin, and property taxes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Jackson 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.
Jackson County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Jackson County ranks high
- Internet speedBetter than 91% of counties
- Educational attainmentBetter than 90% of counties
- TransitBetter than 83% of counties
- BikingBetter than 82% of counties
- Short commute20.3 minutes each way, better than 77% of counties
Where Jackson County ranks low
- Low property taxBetter than only 2% of counties
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 2% of counties
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 3% of counties
- School gradeD, better than only 4% of counties
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 8% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Jackson County
A household needs to earn about $45,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Jackson County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $55,805, 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 Jackson County's effective rate of 1.98%, 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 Jackson County
Jackson County runs younger 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 Jackson County.
Who works in Jackson County, and how
Work in Jackson County centers on education and health care & social. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 79%
- Work from home 11%
- Transit, walk, or bike 10%
Life in Jackson County
Jackson County has more restaurants and bars per resident than 73% of counties and more parkland per resident than 95% of counties. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Jackson County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Jackson County growing, and who is moving in?
Jackson County has lost about 10% of its population over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Chicago, IL.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Jackson County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Jackson County, month by month
Jackson County sees roughly 68 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 89 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° | 57° | 47° |
| July | 89° | 78° | 70° |
| October | 72° | 59° | 48° |
Flying in and out of Jackson County
The nearest airport, Veterans Airport of Southern Illinois, is about 14 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is St Louis Lambert International, about 91 miles away.
The best schools in and around Jackson County
Schools across Jackson County average a D, better than 4% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Altenburg Elem.B+ · 52% proficient
- Giant City Elem SchoolB · 48% proficient
- Unity Point Elem SchoolC− · 27% proficient
Top middle schools
- Elverado Junior High SchoolC · 35% proficient
- Herrin Middle SchoolD+ · 26% proficient
- Trico Jr High SchoolD− · 18% proficient
Top high schools
- Carbondale Comm H SC · 31% proficient
- Herrin High SchoolD+ · 25% proficient
- Trico Senior High SchoolD · 20% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Jackson County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Jackson 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 Jackson County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who Jackson County suits
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 11% already work from home.
Retirees
Set weather, quiet, and health care weights on the map to test the fit.
Common questions about living in Jackson County
Is Jackson County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Jackson County ranks 2,870th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on fast internet, an educated workforce, 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 Jackson County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $147,111. The overall cost of living runs about 10% below the national average. Set against a $55,805 median income, cost of living beats 10% of counties.
Is Jackson County safe?
Jackson County is safer than 21% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $371 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Jackson County?
July highs average about 89 degrees, and January highs near 43 with lows near 27. That works out to about 68 pleasant days a year, more than 16% of counties.
Is Jackson County good for families?
Schools beat 4% of counties, crime safety beats 21%, and childcare runs $1,073 a month.
Compare Jackson County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Jackson County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Jackson 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.
Jackson County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Jackson County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Jackson County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Jackson County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Jackson County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Jackson 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.