Best PlacesWest Liberty, IL Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around West Liberty, 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.
West Liberty ranks 27,223rd of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. Taxes pulls hardest against it, while it scores best on few empty homes.
The best neighborhoods in West Liberty
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.
West Liberty's strengths and weaknesses
Where West Liberty ranks high
- Low vacancyBetter than 89% of towns
- Voter turnoutBetter than 88% of towns
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 88% of towns
- Short commute22.0 minutes each way, better than 80% of towns
- QuietBetter than 79% of towns
Where West Liberty 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
- Local economyBetter than only 4% of towns
- Low property taxBetter than only 9% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in West Liberty
A household needs to earn about $37,000 a year to comfortably buy the median West Liberty home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $82,741, 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 West Liberty's effective rate of 1.57%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices and rents, renting stays cheaper than buying across the first 10 years here, so the case for buying rests on staying much longer or on prices rising faster than assumed. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in West Liberty
West Liberty's age mix sits close to the national median.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for West Liberty.
Who works in West Liberty, and how
Work in West Liberty centers on agriculture & forestry and manufacturing. Unemployment runs well above the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 78%
- Work from home 19%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in West Liberty
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across West Liberty.
What the weather is like in West Liberty, month by month
West Liberty sees roughly 56 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 87 degrees. January highs sit near 39, with lows near 25. The comfortable stretch runs April through June and August through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 39° | 31° | 25° |
| April | 67° | 55° | 46° |
| July | 87° | 77° | 68° |
| October | 71° | 58° | 48° |
Flying in and out of West Liberty
The nearest airport, Evansville Regional, is about 64 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Indianapolis International, about 112 miles away.
The best schools in and around West Liberty
Schools across West Liberty average a C−, better than 24% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Richland County Elementary SchoolC− · 29% proficient
- Oblong Elem SchoolD · 17% proficient
Top middle schools
- Jasper Co Jr HighB− · 43% proficient
- Richland County Middle SchoolD+ · 24% proficient
Top high schools
- Newton Comm High SchoolD · 20% proficient
- Richland County High SchoolD− · 18% proficient
- Oblong High SchoolF · 11% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every West Liberty school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
West Liberty 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 West Liberty against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in West Liberty
Is West Liberty a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, West Liberty ranks 27,223rd of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on few empty homes, civic engagement, 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 West Liberty expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $128,718. The overall cost of living runs about 18% below the national average. Set against a $82,741 median income, cost of living beats 77% of towns.
Is West Liberty safe?
West Liberty is safer than 25% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $319 per resident a year.
Compare West Liberty with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to West Liberty. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in West Liberty 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.
West Liberty detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for West Liberty: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in West Liberty: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of West Liberty: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in West Liberty: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
West Liberty 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.