Best PlacesSouth Pekin, IL Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around South Pekin, 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.
South Pekin ranks 33,931st of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on cell coverage by a wide margin, and taxes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in South Pekin
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 Pekin's strengths and weaknesses
Where South Pekin ranks high
- Cell coverageBetter than 94% of towns
- WalkabilityBetter than 78% of towns
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 78% of towns
- State infrastructureBetter than 77% of towns
- BikingBetter than 72% of towns
Where South Pekin ranks low
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 3% of towns
- Nice weatherabout 56 pleasant days a year, better than only 3% of towns
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 4% of towns
- Low property taxBetter than only 5% of towns
- School gradeD, better than only 6% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in South Pekin
A household needs to earn about $40,000 a year to comfortably buy the median South Pekin home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $75,016, 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 Pekin's effective rate of 1.82%, 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 South Pekin
South Pekin runs younger than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for South Pekin.
Who works in South Pekin, and how
Work in South Pekin centers on retail trade and manufacturing. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 91%
- Work from home 7%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in South Pekin
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across South Pekin.
What the weather is like in South Pekin, month by month
South Pekin sees roughly 56 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 88 degrees. January highs sit near 36, with lows near 18. The comfortable stretch runs May, June, and August through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 36° | 27° | 18° |
| April | 66° | 52° | 40° |
| July | 88° | 77° | 66° |
| October | 70° | 56° | 45° |
Flying in and out of South Pekin
The nearest airport, General Downing - Peoria International, is about 12 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is St Louis Lambert International, about 126 miles away.
The best schools in and around South Pekin
Schools across South Pekin average a D, better than 6% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Rankin Elem SchoolC− · 28% proficient
- Midwest Central Primary SchoolD · 18% proficient
- South Pekin Elem SchoolD− · 13% proficient
Top middle schools
- Midwest Central Middle SchoolD+ · 25% proficient
Top high schools
- Pekin Community High SchoolD · 23% proficient
- Midwest Central High SchoolF · 8% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every South Pekin school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
South Pekin 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 Pekin against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in South Pekin
Is South Pekin a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, South Pekin ranks 33,931st of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on cell coverage, walkability, and a stable housing market, and lowest on taxes and the weather. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is South Pekin expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $133,069. The overall cost of living runs about 18% below the national average. Set against a $75,016 median income, cost of living beats 64% of towns.
Is South Pekin safe?
Yes, South Pekin is safer than 60% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $211 per resident a year.
Compare South Pekin with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to South Pekin. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in South Pekin 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 Pekin detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for South Pekin: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in South Pekin: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of South Pekin: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in South Pekin: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
South Pekin 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.