Best PlacesRock Island, TX Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Rock Island, 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.
Rock Island ranks 38,863rd of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on quiet by a wide margin, and summer heat is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Rock Island
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.
Rock Island's strengths and weaknesses
Where Rock Island ranks high
- QuietBetter than 97% of towns
- Nice weatherabout 170 pleasant days a year, better than 97% of towns
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than 92% of towns
- State fiscal healthBetter than 81% of towns
- Big-city accessBetter than 79% of towns
Where Rock Island ranks low
- Heat safetyBetter than only 2% of towns
- Low vacancyBetter than only 10% of towns
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 10% of towns
- Internet speedBetter than only 11% of towns
- Health outlookBetter than only 13% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Rock Island
A household needs to earn about $44,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Rock Island home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $52,923, 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 Rock Island's effective rate of 0.75%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Who lives in Rock Island
Rock Island runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Rock Island.
Who works in Rock Island, and how
Work in Rock Island centers on retail trade and education. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 93%
- Work from home 2%
- Transit, walk, or bike 5%
Life in Rock Island
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Rock Island.
What the weather is like in Rock Island, month by month
Rock Island sees roughly 170 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 96 degrees. January highs sit near 64, with lows near 43. The comfortable stretch runs February through April and October through December.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 64° | 52° | 43° |
| April | 81° | 70° | 61° |
| July | 96° | 85° | 76° |
| October | 84° | 72° | 62° |
Flying in and out of Rock Island
The nearest airport, Victoria Regional, is about 51 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Austin-Bergstrom International, about 79 miles away.
The best schools in and around Rock Island
Schools across Rock Island average a B−, better than 55% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Sheridan ElA− · 62% proficient
- Weimar ElB+ · 53% proficient
- Hallettsville ElB · 45% proficient
Top middle schools
- Weimar J HB · 43% proficient
- Hallettsville J HB · 43% proficient
- Columbus J HB− · 39% proficient
Top high schools
- Weimar H SA− · 60% proficient
- Hallettsville H SB+ · 55% proficient
- Columbus H SC+ · 40% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Rock Island school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Rock Island 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 Rock Island against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Rock Island
Is Rock Island a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Rock Island ranks 38,863rd of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on quiet, the weather, and low taxes, and lowest on summer heat and empty homes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Rock Island expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $170,392. The overall cost of living runs about 15% below the national average. Set against a $52,923 median income, cost of living beats 16% of towns.
Is Rock Island safe?
Rock Island is safer than 16% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $574 per resident a year.
Compare Rock Island with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Rock Island. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Rock Island 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.
Rock Island detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Rock Island: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Rock Island: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Rock Island: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Rock Island: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Rock Island 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.