Housing & affordability
18% of the score · 47/100
D
Median home value$202,900
St. Louis $244,800
Median rent$855/mo
St. Louis $1,113/mo
Cost-burdened households22%
St. Louis 26%
Highland
Madison County10,262 residentsHighland Cusd 5
54
C−
Suburbgrade score
42nd of 60 St. Louis suburbs. Strongest on schools, held back by amenities.
54
St. Louis median 60
0 · F
A+ · 100
Launch-day rule. Residents is not counted for Highland yet: no poll responses so far. The overall score of 54 is computed on the other six categories, re-normalised to 100%. Answer the poll →
What living here is actually like
Written summary in preparation This page is waiting for its written summary, and for a person to check it. Until then it is excluded from search engines.
What Highland is like to live in, by category
Bars show Highland against St. Louis. Weights are published in full.Schools
18% of the score · 72/100
B−
Within-state proficiency76th pct
St. Louis median 68th pct
Student–teacher ratio14.5
St. Louis median 14.5
Graduation rate—
St. Louis median 94%
Cost of living
14% of the score · 61/100
C
Housing cost index87
St. Louis 100
Eff. tax rate2.00%
St. Louis 1.16%
Local sales tax8.96%
St. Louis median 8.44%
Commute & transport
14% of the score · 41/100
D−
Mean commute27.3 min
St. Louis 24.9 min
Under 30 minutes49%
St. Louis 65%
Transit stops / sq mi0.0
St. Louis median 1.4 · within 2 miles
Amenities
12% of the score · 30/100
F
Restaurants & cafés4
St. Louis median 32 · within 2 miles
Groceries1
St. Louis median 4 · within 2 miles
Parks8
St. Louis median 21 · within 2 miles
Employment & income
12% of the score · 69/100
B−
Median household income$82,551
St. Louis $80,196
Unemployment1.0%
St. Louis 4.2%
Professional occupations50%
St. Louis 45%
Residents
12% of the score · inactive
—
No responses yet. Residents is excluded from the score until eight people answer.
Ask the people who live here
Twelve yes/no questions, one tap each. No dataset knows whether the yards are kept or whether anyone talks to their neighbours. Answers feed the Residents grade, which needs eight responses before it counts.
Nobody has answered for Highland yet. If you live here, you can be the first.
Is it quiet at night?
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Do you feel safe walking after dark?
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Can you walk to a grocery store?
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Is it good for young children?
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Are yards and streets well kept?
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Tap either button to answer — no account neededAll twelve questions →
Better than Highland on amenities
Highland's weakest grade is F. Six suburbs are within 25 miles and score higher on the same six inputs.
SuburbAmenitiesOverall
Edwardsville16 mi from HighlandC 58 C Fairview Heights21 mi from HighlandC 57 C− Collinsville18 mi from HighlandC 54 C− Belleville24 mi from HighlandC 52 D+ Wood River22 mi from HighlandC 51 D+ O'Fallon17 mi from HighlandC 62 C Restaurants & cafés: OpenStreetMap Sep 2026 · Groceries: OpenStreetMap Sep 2026
Common questions about living in Highland
Is Highland, IL a good place to live?
Highland scores 54 out of 100, 42nd of 60 St. Louis suburbs. It is strongest on schools and weakest on amenities. Every weight behind that score is published on the methodology page.
Is Highland expensive to live in?
Cost of living grades C. The median home is $202,900, 17% below the St. Louis median, and the effective property tax rate is 2.00%. $855/mo is the median gross rent.
How good are the schools in Highland?
Schools grade B−. The districts serving Highland sit at the 76th pct within-state proficiency percentile, with a — graduation rate and a 14.5 student–teacher ratio. Highland is served by Highland Cusd 5. Proficiency is only ever compared inside the same state.
How long is the commute from Highland?
The mean commute is 27.3 min, with 49% of workers travelling under 30 minutes and 10% working from home. Transit density is 0.0 stops per square mile.
Can you walk anywhere in Highland?
Within two miles there are 1 groceries, 4 restaurants and cafés and 8 parks, which grades F on amenities.
Are the homes in Highland old or new?
The median home in Highland was built in 1979 — newer than the St. Louis median of 1973. That is a median, so a town can be half post-war and half new-build and still land there. 75% of homes are houses rather than flats.
Every answer is built from the figures on this page, with their sources and as-of dates on the methodology page.