Best PlacesMontgomery County, IL Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Montgomery County, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. The averages are not the whole story, and the strongest areas score well above them. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Montgomery County ranks 2,289th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on a stable housing market by a wide margin, and state finances rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Montgomery 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.
The best areas in Montgomery County
The parts of Montgomery County, ranked by the BestNeighborhood standard score across every neighborhood, highest scoring first. Each note says how that part differs from the rest of the county.
Nokomis
More households have young kids and streets are more walkable.
Hillsboro & Taylor Springs
Local pay stretches less far and fewer residents vote.
Litchfield
Fewer homes sit empty and more adults hold degrees.
Scores across Montgomery County run from about the 4th to the 59th percentile nationally. The map is where that becomes a choice of area.
Montgomery County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Montgomery County ranks high
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 95% of counties
- Low vacancyBetter than 73% of counties
- State infrastructureBetter than 72% of counties
- WalkabilityBetter than 70% of counties
- Voter turnoutBetter than 65% of counties
Where Montgomery County ranks low
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 2% of counties
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 3% of counties
- Nice weatherabout 61 pleasant days a year, better than only 7% of counties
- Low property taxBetter than only 9% of counties
- School gradeD+, better than only 13% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Montgomery County
A household needs to earn about $34,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Montgomery County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $65,776, 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 Montgomery County's effective rate of 1.44%, 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 6 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Montgomery County
Montgomery County runs older 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 Montgomery County.
Who works in Montgomery County, and how
Work in Montgomery County centers on health care & social and retail trade. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 86%
- Work from home 9%
- Transit, walk, or bike 6%
Life in Montgomery County
Montgomery County has more restaurants and bars per resident than 73% of counties. That concentrates in some parts of Montgomery County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Montgomery County growing, and who is moving in?
Montgomery County has lost about 6% of its population over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from St Louis, MO.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Montgomery County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Montgomery County, month by month
Montgomery County sees roughly 61 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 85 degrees. January highs sit near 37, with lows near 23. The comfortable stretch runs May through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 37° | 29° | 23° |
| April | 65° | 53° | 44° |
| July | 85° | 75° | 67° |
| October | 69° | 56° | 46° |
Flying in and out of Montgomery County
The nearest airport, Abraham Lincoln Capital, is about 46 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is St Louis Lambert International, about 56 miles away.
The best schools in and around Montgomery County
Schools across Montgomery County average a D+, better than 13% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Alhambra Primary SchoolA− · 60% proficient
- Ramsey Elem SchoolC+ · 38% proficient
- North Elem SchoolC · 35% proficient
Top middle schools
- Highland Middle SchoolB− · 41% proficient
- Hillsboro Jr High SchoolC− · 30% proficient
- Litchfield Middle SchoolC− · 28% proficient
Top high schools
- Highland High SchoolC+ · 40% proficient
- Bond Cty Comm Unit 2 High SchoolC− · 28% proficient
- Ramsey High SchoolC− · 28% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Montgomery County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Montgomery 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 Montgomery County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who Montgomery County suits
Families
Schools land around the 13th percentile and crime safety beats 56%.
Retirees
Set weather, quiet, and health care weights on the map to test the fit.
Common questions about living in Montgomery County
Is Montgomery County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Montgomery County ranks 2,289th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on a stable housing market, few empty homes, and state infrastructure, 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 Montgomery County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $118,692. The overall cost of living runs about 16% below the national average. Set against a $65,776 median income, cost of living beats 47% of counties.
Is Montgomery County safe?
Yes, Montgomery County is safer than 56% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $256 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Montgomery County?
July highs average about 85 degrees, and January highs near 37 with lows near 23. That works out to about 61 pleasant days a year, more than 7% of counties.
What are the best neighborhoods in Montgomery County?
Using the default rankings, the highest-scoring areas are Nokomis, Hillsboro & Taylor Springs, and Litchfield. The ranked list and the re-weightable map above let you re-sort them for your own priorities.
Compare Montgomery County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Montgomery County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Montgomery 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.
Montgomery County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Montgomery County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Montgomery County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Montgomery County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Montgomery County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Montgomery 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.