Best PlacesJersey County, IL Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Jersey County, 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.
Jersey County ranks 1,325th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. State finances pulls hardest against it, while it scores best on what local pay buys.
The best neighborhoods in Jersey 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.
Jersey County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Jersey County ranks high
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 89% of counties
- Voter turnoutBetter than 87% of counties
- Crime safetyBetter than 79% of counties
- Household income$81,984 median, better than 78% of counties
- Big-city accessBetter than 76% of counties
Where Jersey County ranks low
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 2% of counties
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 3% of counties
- Low property taxBetter than only 6% of counties
- Air qualityBetter than only 14% of counties
- School gradeC−, better than only 23% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Jersey County
A household needs to earn about $51,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Jersey County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $81,984, 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 Jersey County's effective rate of 1.57%, 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 8 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Jersey County
Jersey County runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Jersey County.
Who works in Jersey County, and how
Work in Jersey County centers on health care & social and manufacturing. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 83%
- Work from home 12%
- Transit, walk, or bike 5%
Life in Jersey County
Jersey County has more restaurants and bars per resident than 91% of counties and less parkland per resident than most counties. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Jersey County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Jersey County growing, and who is moving in?
Jersey County has lost about 6% of its population over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from the rest of the St Louis, MO metro.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Jersey County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Jersey County, month by month
Jersey County sees roughly 83 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 90 degrees. January highs sit near 41, with lows near 24. The comfortable stretch runs April, May, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 41° | 31° | 24° |
| April | 69° | 56° | 46° |
| July | 90° | 79° | 70° |
| October | 72° | 59° | 48° |
Flying in and out of Jersey County
St Louis Lambert International sits about 23 miles away. It is a medium hub and boarded 7.5 million passengers in 2025, with 114 nonstop destinations.
The best schools in and around Jersey County
Schools across Jersey County average a C−, better than 23% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Jerseyville East Elem SchoolC− · 30% proficient
- Shipman Elem SchoolD+ · 25% proficient
- Grafton Elem SchoolD · 20% proficient
Top middle schools
- Jersey Community Middle SchoolC− · 30% proficient
- Southwestern Middle SchoolC− · 28% proficient
- Alton Middle SchoolF · 11% proficient
Top high schools
- Jersey Comm High SchoolC− · 27% proficient
- Alton High SchoolD · 23% proficient
- Southwestern High SchoolD · 23% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Jersey County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Jersey 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 Jersey County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who Jersey County suits
Families
Schools land around the 23rd percentile and crime safety beats 79%.
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 89% of counties, internet is fast and widely advertised, and 12% already work from home.
Common questions about living in Jersey County
Is Jersey County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Jersey County ranks 1,325th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on what local pay buys, civic engagement, and low crime, and lowest on state finances and taxes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Jersey County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $178,239. The overall cost of living runs about 18% below the national average. Set against a $81,984 median income, cost of living beats 89% of counties.
Is Jersey County safe?
Yes, Jersey County is safer than 79% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $213 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Jersey County?
July highs average about 90 degrees, and January highs near 41 with lows near 24. That works out to about 83 pleasant days a year, more than 42% of counties.
Is Jersey County good for families?
Schools beat 23% of counties, crime safety beats 79%, and childcare runs $704 a month.
Compare Jersey County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Jersey County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Jersey 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.
Jersey County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Jersey County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Jersey County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Jersey County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Jersey County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Jersey 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.