Best PlacesMackinaw, IL Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Mackinaw, 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.
Mackinaw ranks 10,014th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on low crime by a wide margin, and taxes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Mackinaw
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.
Mackinaw's strengths and weaknesses
Where Mackinaw ranks high
- Crime safetyBetter than 90% of towns
- WalkabilityBetter than 89% of towns
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 87% of towns
- Health outlookBetter than 87% of towns
- Household income$102,382 median, better than 86% of towns
Where Mackinaw ranks low
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 3% of towns
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 4% of towns
- Low property taxBetter than only 4% of towns
- Nice weatherabout 64 pleasant days a year, better than only 14% of towns
- Cheap childcare$1,095 a month, better than only 16% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Mackinaw
A household needs to earn about $61,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Mackinaw home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $102,382, 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 Mackinaw's effective rate of 1.87%, 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 Mackinaw
Mackinaw's age mix sits close to the national median.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Mackinaw.
Who works in Mackinaw, and how
Work in Mackinaw centers on construction and education. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 89%
- Work from home 8%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in Mackinaw
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Mackinaw.
What the weather is like in Mackinaw, month by month
Mackinaw sees roughly 64 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 88 degrees. January highs sit near 36, with lows near 18. The comfortable stretch runs May, June, and August through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 36° | 27° | 18° |
| April | 66° | 52° | 40° |
| July | 88° | 77° | 66° |
| October | 70° | 56° | 45° |
Flying in and out of Mackinaw
The nearest airport, General Downing - Peoria International, is about 20 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Chicago Midway International, about 119 miles away.
The best schools in and around Mackinaw
Schools across Mackinaw average a C−, better than 21% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Tremont Elem SchoolB · 45% proficient
- Olympia North Elem SchC · 35% proficient
- Olympia West Elem SchC · 33% proficient
Top middle schools
- Tremont Middle SchoolB+ · 48% proficient
- Olympia Middle SchoolD+ · 26% proficient
- Dee-mack Intermediate SchoolD+ · 24% proficient
Top high schools
- Tremont High SchoolC+ · 35% proficient
- Olympia High SchoolC− · 30% proficient
- Dee-mack High SchoolD+ · 25% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Mackinaw school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Mackinaw 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 Mackinaw against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Mackinaw
Is Mackinaw a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Mackinaw ranks 10,014th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on low crime, walkability, and what local pay buys, and lowest on 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 Mackinaw expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $202,769. The overall cost of living runs about 8% below the national average. Set against a $102,382 median income, cost of living beats 87% of towns.
Is Mackinaw safe?
Yes, Mackinaw is safer than 90% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $142 per resident a year.
Compare Mackinaw with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Mackinaw. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Mackinaw 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.
Mackinaw detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Mackinaw: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Mackinaw: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Mackinaw: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Mackinaw: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Mackinaw 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.