Best PlacesSangamon County, IL Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Sangamon County, 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.
Sangamon County ranks 1,171st of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It does not top any single list, but it lands above the national middle on transit and biking. The weaker spots are property taxes, state finances, and taxes.
The best neighborhoods in Sangamon 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 Sangamon County
The parts of Sangamon 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.
Chatham & Auburn
Crime runs lower, fewer homes sit empty, and incomes run higher.
Springfield
More adults hold degrees and biking is better.
Rochester & Pawnee
It is quieter, though transit reaches fewer jobs.
Sherman & Riverton
Scores close to Rochester & Pawnee, except that local pay stretches less far here.
Sangamon County shows why a single number is not enough. Some neighborhoods score in the bottom 1% of the country and others in the top 5%. Pick the area first, then the home.
Sangamon County's strengths and weaknesses
Sangamon County lands in the middle because its strengths and weaknesses roughly balance. Transit is the standout, in the top 2% of counties. Biking and an educated workforce follow.
The one real hole is property taxes, near the bottom of the country. State finances and taxes also cost it ground. Cost swings more from one part of Sangamon County to another than it does between Sangamon County and its neighbors, which the map below shows.
Where Sangamon County ranks high
- TransitBetter than 98% of counties
- BikingBetter than 91% of counties
- Educational attainmentBetter than 89% of counties
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 88% of counties
- Cell coverageBetter than 83% of counties
Where Sangamon County ranks low
- Low property taxBetter than only 2% of counties
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 2% of counties
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 3% of counties
- Nice weatherabout 62 pleasant days a year, better than only 8% of counties
- School gradeD+, better than only 9% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Sangamon County
A household needs to earn about $56,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Sangamon County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $84,669, 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 Sangamon County's effective rate of 1.89%, 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 Sangamon County
Sangamon 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 Sangamon County.
Who works in Sangamon County, and how
Work in Sangamon County centers on health care & social and public administration. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 81%
- Work from home 14%
- Transit, walk, or bike 5%
Life in Sangamon County
Sangamon County has more late-night spots per resident than 92% of counties. That concentrates in some parts of Sangamon County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Sangamon County growing, and who is moving in?
Sangamon County has lost about 2% of its population over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from St Louis, MO.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Sangamon County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Sangamon County, month by month
Sangamon County sees roughly 62 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 87 degrees. January highs sit near 37, with lows near 22. The comfortable stretch runs May, June, and August through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 37° | 29° | 22° |
| April | 66° | 54° | 44° |
| July | 87° | 77° | 68° |
| October | 69° | 57° | 47° |
Flying in and out of Sangamon County
The nearest airport, Abraham Lincoln Capital, is about 5 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is St Louis Lambert International, about 80 miles away.
The best schools in and around Sangamon County
Schools across Sangamon County average a D+, better than 9% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Iles Elem SchoolA · 65% proficient
- Sherman Elem SchoolB+ · 53% proficient
- Cantrall Elem SchoolB · 45% proficient
Top middle schools
- Lincoln Magnet SchoolB · 47% proficient
- Cantrall Intermediate SchoolC+ · 39% proficient
- Williamsville Jr High SchoolC+ · 37% proficient
Top high schools
- Springfield High SchoolB · 49% proficient
- Pleasant Plains High SchoolC+ · 38% proficient
- Glenwood High SchoolC+ · 37% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Sangamon County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Sangamon 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 Sangamon County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who Sangamon County suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 88% of counties, internet is fast and widely advertised, and 14% already work from home.
Common questions about living in Sangamon County
Is Sangamon County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Sangamon County ranks 1,171st of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on transit, biking, and an educated workforce, and lowest on property 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 Sangamon County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $187,256. The overall cost of living runs about 14% below the national average. Set against a $84,669 median income, cost of living beats 88% of counties.
Is Sangamon County safe?
Sangamon County is safer than 46% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $330 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Sangamon County?
July highs average about 87 degrees, and January highs near 37 with lows near 22. That works out to about 62 pleasant days a year, more than 8% of counties.
What are the best neighborhoods in Sangamon County?
Using the default rankings, the highest-scoring areas are Chatham & Auburn, Springfield, and Rochester & Pawnee. The ranked list and the re-weightable map above let you re-sort them for your own priorities.
Is Sangamon County good for families?
Schools beat 9% of counties, crime safety beats 46%, and childcare runs $899 a month.
Is Sangamon County good for remote workers?
Cost of living against local pay beats 88% of counties, and the fastest advertised internet here beats 74% of counties. About 14% of workers already work from home.
Compare Sangamon County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Sangamon County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Sangamon 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.
Sangamon County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Sangamon County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Sangamon County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Sangamon County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Sangamon County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Sangamon 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.