Best PlacesJoslin, IL Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Joslin, 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.
Joslin ranks 7,940th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on what local pay buys by a wide margin, and taxes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Joslin
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.
Joslin's strengths and weaknesses
Where Joslin ranks high
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 97% of towns
- Household income$120,102 median, better than 93% of towns
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 92% of towns
- Educational attainmentBetter than 88% of towns
- Voter turnoutBetter than 86% of towns
Where Joslin ranks low
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 3% of towns
- Low property taxBetter than only 4% of towns
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 4% of towns
- Nice weatherabout 63 pleasant days a year, better than only 13% of towns
- WalkabilityBetter than only 19% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Joslin
A household needs to earn about $68,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Joslin home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $120,102, 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 Joslin's effective rate of 1.93%, 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 10 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Joslin
Joslin runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Joslin.
Who works in Joslin, and how
Work in Joslin centers on manufacturing and health care & social. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 81%
- Work from home 13%
- Transit, walk, or bike 6%
Life in Joslin
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Joslin.
What the weather is like in Joslin, month by month
Joslin sees roughly 63 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 88 degrees. January highs sit near 35, with lows near 16. The comfortable stretch runs May, June, and August through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 35° | 25° | 16° |
| April | 66° | 51° | 39° |
| July | 88° | 76° | 65° |
| October | 69° | 55° | 43° |
Flying in and out of Joslin
The nearest airport, Quad Cities International, is about 17 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Chicago O'Hare International, about 122 miles away.
The best schools in and around Joslin
Schools across Joslin average a C−, better than 22% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Riverdale Elem SchoolC− · 26% proficient
- Northside Elem SchoolD+ · 25% proficient
Top middle schools
- Riverdale Middle SchoolB− · 40% proficient
- Geneseo Middle SchoolD− · 18% proficient
Top high schools
- Geneseo High SchoolC+ · 35% proficient
- Riverdale Sr High SchoolC− · 28% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Joslin school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Joslin 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 Joslin against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Joslin
Is Joslin a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Joslin ranks 7,940th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on what local pay buys, high incomes, and a stable housing market, and lowest on taxes and property taxes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Joslin expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $226,111. The overall cost of living runs about 15% below the national average. Set against a $120,102 median income, cost of living beats 97% of towns.
Is Joslin safe?
Yes, Joslin is safer than 84% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $172 per resident a year.
Compare Joslin with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Joslin. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Joslin 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.
Joslin detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Joslin: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Joslin: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Joslin: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Joslin: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Joslin 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.