Best PlacesWindsor Mercer County, IL Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Windsor Mercer 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.
Windsor Mercer County ranks 31,891st of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. Taxes pulls hardest against it, while it scores best on a stable housing market.
The best neighborhoods in Windsor Mercer 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.
Windsor Mercer County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Windsor Mercer County ranks high
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 84% of towns
- QuietBetter than 78% of towns
- State infrastructureBetter than 77% of towns
- Crime safetyBetter than 74% of towns
- Health outlookBetter than 69% of towns
Where Windsor Mercer County ranks low
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 3% of towns
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 4% of towns
- Low property taxBetter than only 7% of towns
- BikingBetter than only 13% of towns
- School gradeD+, better than only 15% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Windsor Mercer County
A household needs to earn about $36,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Windsor Mercer County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $66,172, 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 Windsor Mercer County's effective rate of 1.64%, 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 8 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Windsor Mercer County
Windsor Mercer County 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 Windsor Mercer County.
Who works in Windsor Mercer County, and how
Work in Windsor Mercer County centers on manufacturing and health care & social. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 84%
- Work from home 6%
- Transit, walk, or bike 10%
Life in Windsor Mercer County
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Windsor Mercer County.
What the weather is like in Windsor Mercer County, month by month
Windsor Mercer County sees roughly 66 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 Windsor Mercer County
The nearest airport, Quad Cities International, is about 18 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Chicago O'Hare International, about 143 miles away.
The best schools in and around Windsor Mercer County
Schools across Windsor Mercer County average a D+, better than 15% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Winola Elementary SchoolD− · 15% proficient
Top middle schools
- Sherrard Jr High SchoolC+ · 38% proficient
Top high schools
- Sherrard High SchoolD+ · 25% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Windsor Mercer County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Windsor Mercer 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 Windsor Mercer County against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Windsor Mercer County
Is Windsor Mercer County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Windsor Mercer County ranks 31,891st of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on a stable housing market, quiet, and state infrastructure, and lowest on taxes and state finances. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Windsor Mercer County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $124,665. The overall cost of living runs about 19% below the national average. Set against a $66,172 median income, cost of living beats 54% of towns.
Is Windsor Mercer County safe?
Yes, Windsor Mercer County is safer than 74% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $197 per resident a year.
Compare Windsor Mercer County with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Windsor Mercer County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Windsor Mercer 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.
Windsor Mercer County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Windsor Mercer County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Windsor Mercer County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Windsor Mercer County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Windsor Mercer County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Windsor Mercer 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.
- 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.