Best PlacesWinnebago County, IL Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Winnebago County, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. The averages are not the whole story, and the strongest areas score well above them. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Winnebago County ranks 1,637th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It ranks low mainly on property taxes and state finances. It does better on big-city access, which keeps it off the bottom.
The best neighborhoods in Winnebago 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.
The best areas in Winnebago County
The parts of Winnebago County, ranked by the BestNeighborhood standard score across every neighborhood, highest scoring first. Each note says how that part differs from the rest of the county.
Roscoe, Loves Park & Machesney Park
Crime runs lower, local pay stretches further, and incomes run higher.
Durand
It is quieter, though fewer households have young kids.
Rockton
More residents vote.
Cherry Valley
Fewer homes sit empty and prices have run up less.
Winnebago
Health care is harder to reach and fewer adults hold degrees.
Rockford
Streets are more walkable and homes cost less.
Pecatonica
Transit reaches more jobs, though health outcomes score lower.
Winnebago County shows why a single number is not enough. Some neighborhoods score in the bottom 1% of the country and others in the top 8%. Pick the area first, then the home.
Winnebago County's strengths and weaknesses
Winnebago County lands in the middle because its strengths and weaknesses roughly balance. Big-city access, biking, and transit carry most of that.
The one real hole is property taxes, near the bottom of the country. State finances and taxes also cost it ground. Cost swings more from one part of Winnebago County to another than it does between Winnebago County and its neighbors, which the map below shows.
Where Winnebago County ranks high
- Big-city accessBetter than 93% of counties
- BikingBetter than 92% of counties
- TransitBetter than 92% of counties
- Cell coverageBetter than 88% of counties
- Low vacancyBetter than 85% of counties
Where Winnebago County ranks low
- Low property taxBetter than only 1% of counties
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 2% of counties
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 3% of counties
- Local economyBetter than only 10% of counties
- Cheap childcare$1,095 a month, better than only 11% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Winnebago County
A household needs to earn about $50,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Winnebago County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $73,109, 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 Winnebago County's effective rate of 2.19%, 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 Winnebago County
Winnebago County'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 Winnebago County.
Who works in Winnebago County, and how
Work in Winnebago County centers on manufacturing and health care & social. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 86%
- Work from home 10%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in Winnebago County
Winnebago County has more parkland per resident than 87% of counties and more late-night spots per resident than 87% of counties. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Winnebago County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Winnebago County growing, and who is moving in?
Winnebago County has lost about 2% of its population over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Chicago, IL.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Winnebago County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Winnebago County, month by month
Winnebago County sees roughly 74 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 87 degrees. January highs sit near 33, with lows near 16. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 33° | 24° | 16° |
| April | 63° | 49° | 37° |
| July | 87° | 75° | 63° |
| October | 67° | 53° | 42° |
Flying in and out of Winnebago County
The nearest airport, Chicago/Rockford International, is about 8 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Chicago O'Hare International, about 64 miles away.
The best schools in and around Winnebago County
Schools across Winnebago County average a C−, better than 34% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Thurgood Marshall ElementaryA+ · 75% proficient
- Prairie Hill Elem SchoolA · 63% proficient
- Stone Creek SchoolB · 48% proficient
Top middle schools
- Thurgood Marshall SchoolA+ · 82% proficient
- Willowbrook Middle SchoolA · 67% proficient
- Pecatonica Comm Middle SchoolB · 47% proficient
Top high schools
- Hononegah Chd High SchoolB · 50% proficient
- Pecatonica High SchoolC+ · 40% proficient
- Durand High SchoolC+ · 35% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Winnebago County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Winnebago 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 Winnebago County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who Winnebago County suits
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 10% already work from home.
Retirees
Set weather, quiet, and health care weights on the map to test the fit.
Common questions about living in Winnebago County
Is Winnebago County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Winnebago County ranks 1,637th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on big-city access, biking, and transit, and lowest on property 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 Winnebago County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $162,263. The overall cost of living runs about 17% below the national average. Set against a $73,109 median income, cost of living beats 69% of counties.
Is Winnebago County safe?
Winnebago County is safer than 38% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $325 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Winnebago County?
July highs average about 87 degrees, and January highs near 33 with lows near 16. That works out to about 74 pleasant days a year, more than 28% of counties.
What are the best neighborhoods in Winnebago County?
Using the default rankings, the highest-scoring areas are Roscoe, Loves Park & Machesney Park, Durand, and Rockton. The ranked list and the re-weightable map above let you re-sort them for your own priorities.
Is Winnebago County good for families?
Schools beat 34% of counties, crime safety beats 38%, and childcare runs $1,095 a month.
Is Winnebago County good for remote workers?
Cost of living against local pay beats 69% of counties, and the fastest advertised internet here beats 79% of counties. About 10% of workers already work from home.
Compare Winnebago County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Winnebago County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Winnebago 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.
Winnebago County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Winnebago County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Winnebago County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Winnebago County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Winnebago County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Winnebago 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.