Best PlacesWarren County, IL Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Warren County, 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.
Warren County ranks 2,032nd of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on a stable housing market by a wide margin, and state finances rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Warren 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.
Warren County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Warren County ranks high
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 98% of counties
- WalkabilityBetter than 92% of counties
- Short commute18.8 minutes each way, better than 85% of counties
- State infrastructureBetter than 72% of counties
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 66% of counties
Where Warren County ranks low
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 2% of counties
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 3% of counties
- School gradeD, better than only 5% of counties
- Low property taxBetter than only 6% of counties
- Local economyBetter than only 16% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Warren County
A household needs to earn about $33,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Warren County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $68,538, 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 Warren County's effective rate of 1.59%, 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 4 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Warren County
Warren 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 Warren County.
Who works in Warren County, and how
Work in Warren County centers on education and manufacturing. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 84%
- Work from home 8%
- Transit, walk, or bike 8%
Life in Warren County
Warren County has more parkland per resident than 86% of counties. That concentrates in some parts of Warren County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Warren County growing, and who is moving in?
Warren County has lost about 8% of its population over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Knox County, IL.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Warren County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Warren County, month by month
Warren County sees roughly 68 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 85 degrees. January highs sit near 32, with lows near 17. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 32° | 24° | 17° |
| April | 63° | 50° | 40° |
| July | 85° | 74° | 65° |
| October | 65° | 53° | 44° |
Flying in and out of Warren County
The nearest airport, Southeast Iowa Regional, is about 27 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is St Louis Lambert International, about 149 miles away.
The best schools in and around Warren County
Schools across Warren County average a D, better than 5% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- United Elem Sch - NorthC− · 28% proficient
- Steele SchoolD+ · 23% proficient
- United Elem Sch - WestD− · 15% proficient
Top middle schools
- United Jr High SchD− · 17% proficient
- Abingdon-avon Middle SchD− · 13% proficient
- Central Intermediate SchoolF · 13% proficient
Top high schools
- Monmouth-roseville High SchD · 23% proficient
- Galesburg Senior High SchoolD · 22% proficient
- United High SchoolD · 20% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Warren County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Warren 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 Warren County against the other 3,143 counties.
Common questions about living in Warren County
Is Warren County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Warren County ranks 2,032nd of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on a stable housing market, walkability, and short commutes, and lowest on state finances and taxes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Warren County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $114,487. The overall cost of living runs about 20% below the national average. Set against a $68,538 median income, cost of living beats 66% of counties.
Is Warren County safe?
Warren County is safer than 38% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $290 per resident a year.
Compare Warren County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Warren County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Warren 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.
Warren County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Warren County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Warren County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Warren County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Warren County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Warren 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.