Best PlacesMetropolis, IL Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Metropolis, 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.
Metropolis ranks 36,573rd of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on fast internet by a wide margin, and taxes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Metropolis
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.
Metropolis' strengths and weaknesses
Where Metropolis ranks high
- Internet speedBetter than 97% of towns
- WalkabilityBetter than 91% of towns
- Short commute19.0 minutes each way, better than 91% of towns
- BikingBetter than 87% of towns
- Cell coverageBetter than 81% of towns
Where Metropolis ranks low
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 3% of towns
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 4% of towns
- Nice weatherabout 59 pleasant days a year, better than only 7% of towns
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 11% of towns
- Low property taxBetter than only 12% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Metropolis
A household needs to earn about $38,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Metropolis home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $63,626, 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 Metropolis' effective rate of 1.42%, 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 Metropolis
Metropolis runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Metropolis.
Who works in Metropolis, and how
Work in Metropolis centers on health care & social and retail trade. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 91%
- Work from home 6%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in Metropolis
Metropolis has more restaurants and bars per resident than 86% of towns and more parkland per resident than 92% of towns. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Metropolis and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Metropolis, month by month
Metropolis sees roughly 59 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 89 degrees. January highs sit near 45, with lows near 28. The comfortable stretch runs April through June, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 45° | 36° | 28° |
| April | 71° | 58° | 48° |
| July | 89° | 78° | 70° |
| October | 73° | 60° | 49° |
Flying in and out of Metropolis
The nearest airport, Barkley Regional, is about 8 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Nashville International, about 135 miles away.
The best schools in and around Metropolis
Schools across Metropolis average a D+, better than 14% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Franklin Elem SchoolB · 48% proficient
- Jefferson Elem SchoolC · 35% proficient
- Unity Elem SchoolC− · 28% proficient
Top middle schools
- Massac Jr High SchoolC− · 31% proficient
Top high schools
- Massac County High SchoolD− · 18% proficient
- Joppa Jr & Sr High SchoolD− · 16% proficient
- Pope Co High SchoolF · 5% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Metropolis school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Metropolis 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 Metropolis against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Metropolis
Is Metropolis a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Metropolis ranks 36,573rd of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on fast internet, walkability, and short commutes, 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 Metropolis expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $133,951. The overall cost of living runs about 22% below the national average. Set against a $63,626 median income, cost of living beats 50% of towns.
Is Metropolis safe?
Metropolis is safer than 43% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $260 per resident a year.
Compare Metropolis with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Metropolis. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Metropolis 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.
Metropolis detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Metropolis: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Metropolis: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Metropolis: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Metropolis: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Metropolis 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.