Best PlacesWillis, NE Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Willis, 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.
Willis ranks 21,401st of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on state finances by a wide margin, and a weak job market ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Willis
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.
Willis' strengths and weaknesses
Where Willis ranks high
- State fiscal healthBetter than 99% of towns
- Short commute20.3 minutes each way, better than 87% of towns
- State infrastructureBetter than 87% of towns
- Low vacancyBetter than 83% of towns
- School gradeB+, better than 77% of towns
Where Willis ranks low
- Local economyBetter than only 7% of towns
- Internet speedBetter than only 10% of towns
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 15% of towns
- WalkabilityBetter than only 19% of towns
- Cheap childcare$1,085 a month, better than only 20% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Willis
A household needs to earn about $62,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Willis home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $72,961, 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 Willis' effective rate of 1.12%, 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 9 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Willis
Willis'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 Willis.
Who works in Willis, and how
Work in Willis centers on retail trade and manufacturing. Unemployment is low, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 92%
- Work from home 6%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in Willis
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Willis.
What the weather is like in Willis, month by month
Willis sees roughly 97 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 88 degrees. January highs sit near 34, with lows near 12. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 34° | 22° | 12° |
| April | 65° | 49° | 35° |
| July | 88° | 75° | 62° |
| October | 67° | 51° | 38° |
Flying in and out of Willis
The nearest airport, Sioux Gateway/Brig General Bud Day Field, is about 14 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Eppley Airfield, about 90 miles away.
The best schools in and around Willis
Schools across Willis average a B+, better than 77% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Ponca Elementary SchoolA− · 60% proficient
- Homer Elementary SchoolB+ · 55% proficient
- Riverside Elementary SchoolB+ · 53% proficient
Top middle schools
- South Sioux City Middle SchoolB · 44% proficient
Top high schools
- Ponca High SchoolA− · 67% proficient
- Homer High SchoolC+ · 40% proficient
- South Sioux High SchoolC+ · 37% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Willis school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Willis 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 Willis against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Willis
Is Willis a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Willis ranks 21,401st of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on state finances, short commutes, and state infrastructure, and lowest on a weak job market and internet speeds. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Willis expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $229,000. The overall cost of living runs about 12% below the national average. Set against a $72,961 median income, cost of living beats 49% of towns.
Is Willis safe?
Yes, Willis is safer than 69% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $239 per resident a year.
Compare Willis with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Willis. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Willis 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.
Willis detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Willis: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Willis: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Willis: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Willis: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Willis 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.