Best PlacesRichland County, IL Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Richland County, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Several measures below read low, and the ranked lists name which ones. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Richland County ranks 1,966th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on fast internet by a wide margin, and state finances rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Richland 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.
Richland County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Richland County ranks high
- Internet speedBetter than 98% of counties
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 98% of counties
- Voter turnoutBetter than 81% of counties
- Short commute19.7 minutes each way, better than 80% of counties
- WalkabilityBetter than 78% of counties
Where Richland County ranks low
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 2% of counties
- Nice weatherabout 56 pleasant days a year, better than only 3% of counties
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 3% of counties
- School gradeD+, better than only 12% of counties
- Low property taxBetter than only 17% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Richland County
A household needs to earn about $34,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Richland County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $64,904, 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 Richland County's effective rate of 1.26%, 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 Richland County
Richland County's age mix sits close to the national median, 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 Richland County.
Who works in Richland County, and how
Work in Richland County centers on retail trade and manufacturing. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 84%
- Work from home 7%
- Transit, walk, or bike 9%
Life in Richland County
Richland County has more parkland per resident than 87% of counties. That concentrates in some parts of Richland County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Richland County growing, and who is moving in?
Richland County has lost about 4% of its population over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Wayne County, IL.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Richland County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Richland County, month by month
Richland County sees roughly 56 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 87 degrees. January highs sit near 39, with lows near 25. The comfortable stretch runs April through June and August through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 39° | 31° | 25° |
| April | 67° | 55° | 46° |
| July | 87° | 77° | 68° |
| October | 71° | 58° | 48° |
Flying in and out of Richland County
The nearest airport, Evansville Regional, is about 56 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Indianapolis International, about 118 miles away.
The best schools in and around Richland County
Schools across Richland County average a D+, better than 12% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Richland County Elementary SchoolC− · 29% proficient
- West Salem Grade SchoolC− · 28% proficient
- Clay City Elem SchoolD · 20% proficient
Top middle schools
- Jasper Co Jr HighB− · 43% proficient
- Richland County Middle SchoolD+ · 24% proficient
- Clay City Jr High SchoolF · 4% proficient
Top high schools
- Clay City High SchoolB · 50% proficient
- Edwards County High SchoolC− · 28% proficient
- Newton Comm High SchoolD · 20% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Richland County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Richland 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 Richland County against the other 3,143 counties.
Common questions about living in Richland County
Is Richland County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Richland County ranks 1,966th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on fast internet, a stable housing market, and civic engagement, and lowest on state finances and the weather. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Richland County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $123,871. The overall cost of living runs about 18% below the national average. Set against a $64,904 median income, cost of living beats 48% of counties.
Is Richland County safe?
Yes, Richland County is safer than 56% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $247 per resident a year.
Compare Richland County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Richland County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Richland 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.
Richland County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Richland County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Richland County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Richland County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Richland County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Richland 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.