Best PlacesRockbridge, IL Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Rockbridge, 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.
Rockbridge ranks 36,605th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on a strong job market by a wide margin, and taxes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Rockbridge
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.
Rockbridge's strengths and weaknesses
Where Rockbridge ranks high
- Local economyBetter than 99% of towns
- State infrastructureBetter than 77% of towns
- Cheap childcare$704 a month, better than 64% of towns
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 62% of towns
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 62% of towns
Where Rockbridge ranks low
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 3% of towns
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 4% of towns
- Low vacancyBetter than only 10% of towns
- School gradeD+, better than only 12% of towns
- Air qualityBetter than only 13% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Rockbridge
A household needs to earn about $25,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Rockbridge home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $64,607, 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 Rockbridge's effective rate of 1.23%, 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 3 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Rockbridge
Rockbridge's age mix sits close to the national median, and households here run larger than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Rockbridge.
Who works in Rockbridge, and how
Work in Rockbridge centers on hospitality & food and retail trade. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 87%
- Work from home 11%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in Rockbridge
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Rockbridge.
What the weather is like in Rockbridge, month by month
Rockbridge sees roughly 81 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 90 degrees. January highs sit near 41, with lows near 24. The comfortable stretch runs April, May, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 41° | 31° | 24° |
| April | 69° | 56° | 46° |
| July | 90° | 79° | 70° |
| October | 72° | 59° | 48° |
Flying in and out of Rockbridge
St Louis Lambert International sits about 37 miles away. It is a medium hub and boarded 7.5 million passengers in 2025, with 114 nonstop destinations.
The best schools in and around Rockbridge
Schools across Rockbridge average a D+, better than 12% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Shipman Elem SchoolD+ · 25% proficient
- Greenfield Elem SchoolD · 18% proficient
Top middle schools
- Jersey Community Middle SchoolC− · 30% proficient
- Southwestern Middle SchoolC− · 28% proficient
Top high schools
- Jersey Comm High SchoolC− · 27% proficient
- Southwestern High SchoolD · 23% proficient
- Greenfield High SchoolF · 11% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Rockbridge school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Rockbridge 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 Rockbridge against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Rockbridge
Is Rockbridge a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Rockbridge ranks 36,605th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on a strong job market, state infrastructure, and affordable childcare, 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 Rockbridge expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $91,239. The overall cost of living runs about 17% below the national average. Set against a $64,607 median income, cost of living beats 46% of towns.
Is Rockbridge safe?
Rockbridge is safer than 47% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $244 per resident a year.
Compare Rockbridge with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Rockbridge. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Rockbridge 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.
Rockbridge detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Rockbridge: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Rockbridge: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Rockbridge: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Rockbridge: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Rockbridge 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.