Best PlacesSouth Hill, Bloomington, IL Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around South Hill, Bloomington, 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.
South Hill, Bloomington ranks 4,199th of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on short commutes by a wide margin, and state finances rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in South Hill, Bloomington
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.
South Hill, Bloomington's strengths and weaknesses
Where South Hill, Bloomington ranks high
- Short commute16.6 minutes each way, better than 94% of neighborhoods
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 93% of neighborhoods
- Low vacancyBetter than 87% of neighborhoods
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 84% of neighborhoods
- State infrastructureBetter than 78% of neighborhoods
Where South Hill, Bloomington ranks low
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 4% of neighborhoods
- Low property taxBetter than only 6% of neighborhoods
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 10% of neighborhoods
- Health outlookBetter than only 12% of neighborhoods
- School gradeD, better than only 14% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in South Hill, Bloomington
A household needs to earn about $34,000 a year to comfortably buy the median South Hill, Bloomington home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $60,460, 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 South Hill, Bloomington's effective rate of 1.85%, 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 South Hill, Bloomington
South Hill, Bloomington runs older than the country, 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 South Hill, Bloomington.
Who works in South Hill, Bloomington, and how
Work in South Hill, Bloomington centers on education and finance & insurance. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 78%
- Work from home 16%
- Transit, walk, or bike 6%
Life in South Hill, Bloomington
South Hill, Bloomington has more parkland per resident than 92% of neighborhoods. That concentrates in some parts of South Hill, Bloomington and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in South Hill, Bloomington, month by month
South Hill, Bloomington sees roughly 83 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 85 degrees. January highs sit near 35, with lows near 20. The comfortable stretch runs May through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 35° | 26° | 20° |
| April | 63° | 51° | 41° |
| July | 85° | 75° | 66° |
| October | 66° | 55° | 46° |
Flying in and out of South Hill, Bloomington
The nearest airport, Central Il Regional/Bloomington- Normal, is about 4 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Chicago Midway International, about 112 miles away.
The best schools in and around South Hill, Bloomington
Schools across South Hill, Bloomington average a D, better than 14% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Fox Creek Elementary SchoolF · 10% proficient
- Irving Elementary SchoolF · 6% proficient
- Cedar Ridge Elem SchoolF · 4% proficient
Top middle schools
- Parkside Jr High SchoolD+ · 27% proficient
- Evans Junior High SchoolD+ · 26% proficient
- Bloomington Jr High SchoolD− · 16% proficient
Top high schools
- Normal Community High SchoolB− · 43% proficient
- Normal Community West High SchoolC · 31% proficient
- Bloomington High SchoolC− · 30% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every South Hill, Bloomington school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
South Hill, Bloomington 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 South Hill, Bloomington against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in South Hill, Bloomington
Is South Hill, Bloomington a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, South Hill, Bloomington ranks 4,199th of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on short commutes, a stable housing market, and few empty homes, and lowest on state finances and property taxes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is South Hill, Bloomington expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $112,168. The overall cost of living runs about 10% below the national average. Set against a $60,460 median income, cost of living beats 36% of neighborhoods.
Is South Hill, Bloomington safe?
Yes, South Hill, Bloomington is safer than 57% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $330 per resident a year.
Compare South Hill, Bloomington with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to South Hill, Bloomington. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in South Hill, Bloomington 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.
South Hill, Bloomington detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for South Hill, Bloomington: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in South Hill, Bloomington: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of South Hill, Bloomington: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in South Hill, Bloomington: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
South Hill, Bloomington 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.