Best PlacesSmithshire, IL Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Smithshire, 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.
Smithshire ranks 30,766th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on a stable housing market by a wide margin, and taxes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Smithshire
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.
Smithshire's strengths and weaknesses
Where Smithshire ranks high
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 99% of towns
- Low vacancyBetter than 98% of towns
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 84% of towns
- Short commute22.4 minutes each way, better than 78% of towns
- State infrastructureBetter than 77% of towns
Where Smithshire ranks low
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 3% of towns
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 4% of towns
- School gradeD−, better than only 4% of towns
- Crime safetyBetter than only 8% of towns
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 17% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Smithshire
A household needs to earn about $30,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Smithshire home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $84,498, 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 Smithshire's effective rate of 0.71%, 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 Smithshire
Smithshire runs younger than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Smithshire.
Who works in Smithshire, and how
Work in Smithshire centers on professional & technical and construction. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 81%
- Work from home 16%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in Smithshire
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Smithshire.
What the weather is like in Smithshire, month by month
Smithshire sees roughly 78 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 86 degrees. January highs sit near 34, with lows near 19. The comfortable stretch runs May, June, and August through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 34° | 25° | 19° |
| April | 64° | 52° | 42° |
| July | 86° | 76° | 67° |
| October | 66° | 55° | 46° |
Flying in and out of Smithshire
The nearest airport, Southeast Iowa Regional, is about 19 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is St Louis Lambert International, about 142 miles away.
The best schools in and around Smithshire
Schools across Smithshire average a D−, better than 4% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- United Elem Sch - WestD− · 15% proficient
- West Central Elementary SchoolF · 8% proficient
Top middle schools
- United Jr High SchD− · 17% proficient
- Central Intermediate SchoolF · 13% proficient
- West Central Middle SchoolF · 4% proficient
Top high schools
- Monmouth-roseville High SchD · 23% proficient
- United High SchoolD · 20% proficient
- West Central High SchoolF · 8% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Smithshire school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Smithshire 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 Smithshire against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Smithshire
Is Smithshire a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Smithshire ranks 30,766th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on a stable housing market, few empty homes, and what local pay buys, 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 Smithshire expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $115,975. The overall cost of living runs about 20% below the national average. Set against a $84,498 median income, cost of living beats 84% of towns.
Is Smithshire safe?
Smithshire is safer than 8% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $490 per resident a year.
Compare Smithshire with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Smithshire. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Smithshire 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.
Smithshire detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Smithshire: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Smithshire: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Smithshire: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Smithshire: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Smithshire 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.