Here’s How Nosy Neighbors Are In Illinois

ILLINOIS — What happens in Las Vegas stays in Las Vegas. So how is it that Nevada ranks first for getting up in their neighbors’ business? At least Illinois isn’t that nosy, according to a whimsical survey of how folks feel about their relationships with their neighbors.

So how nosy are we in the Land of Lincoln

Pretty darned nosy, according to the report from Homes.com, a Norfolk, Virginia-based marketing company that helps homebuyers and renters streamline their searches for a place to live.

In our state, neighbors are 1.4 percent nosier than the national average, according to the survey, distributed to about 2,500 people in all 50 states. Illinois ranked at No. 23 in terms of nosiness, making us nosier than more than half the country.

Nosiness can include everything from peeking through the blinds like some modern-day Gladys Kravitz, the busybody next door in the 1960s sitcom “Bewitched,” to eavesdropping and asking intrusive questions to inspecting a neighbor’s package delivery.

“When you’re buying a home, you’re also buying the neighborhood and the neighbors,” Erin Ruane, an executive in Homes.com’s marketing and sales team, told Patch. “We know about 16 percent of homeowners moved in part because of their neighbors, and another 20 percent had considered it.”

Ruane and her team had a hunch that coronavirus social distancing guidelines might be causing “overly curious” neighbors to crawl out of the woodwork. They survey, conducted in early March, asked respondents to rate nosiness levels and answer questions about the habits of their neighbors.

Yeah — they were asking about behavior similar to that guy in Maryland who, sidelined from his job, wasn’t wearing pants when he went out to fetch his mail, setting off a kerfuffle among neighbors that prompted police to warn: “Please remember to put pants on before leaving the house to check your mailbox. You know who you are. This is your final warning.”

The responses included tidbits about a guy who plays the accordion in his yard, another who shaves using a side mirror on his car, kids oblivious to the watchful eyes of their neighbors as they recorded Tik-Tok videos, and porch pirates stealing package deliveries.

The survey also revealed that what people in one part of the country may consider nosiness is viewed as hospitality in others.

Four of the top 10 states with the nosiest neighbors are in the South. Here’s the list, and the level of nosiness higher than the national average:

1. Nevada, 13.2 percent nosier than the national average
2. South Carolina, 11.85 nosier than the national average
3. South Dakota, 11.85 percent nosier than the national average
4. Ohio, 9.7 percent nosier than the national average
5. North Carolina, 9.09 percent nosier than the national average
6. Kentucky, 8.34 percent higher than the national average
7. Louisiana, 7.71 percent nosier than the national average
8. Indiana, 7.04 percent nosier than the national average
9. Virginia, 6.99 percent nosier than the national average
10. Missouri, 6.89 percent nosier than the national average

On the opposite end of the scale, the 10 states with the least nosy neighbors are:

1. Kansas, 11.27 percent less nosy than the national average
2. Idaho, 10.48 percent less nosy than the national average
3. New York, 9.86 percent less nosy than the national average
4. Mississippi, 8.32 percent less nosy than the national average
5. Washington, 7.91 percent less nosy than the national average
6. Pennsylvania, 7.91 percent less nosy than the national average
7. Colorado, 7.91 percent less nosy than the national average
8. Rhode Island, 7.48 percent less nosy than the national average
9. Utah, 7.41 percent less nosy than the national average
10. West Virginia, 6.99 percent less nosy than the national average

Ruane said one of the big surprises in the survey is that New York ranked among the bottom states for nosiness. When surveyed, the majority of New York residents said they’re not nosy, even though they were six times more likely to answer “yes” to questions such as:

• Have you peeked through the blinds to snoop on neighbors?
• Have you eavesdropped on arguments between neighbors?
• Have you listened to neighbors’ conversations?

OK, New York City is a bit of an outlier. Some homeowners have the advantage of adding fences or landscaping for privacy, but many live in such close quarters they overhear their neighbors conversations without actively snooping, Ruane said.

And here’s something else that is interesting: It’s not the boomers who grew up watching Gladys Kravitz go into a tailspin about her witch neighbor who are the nosiest. In fact, the survey showed people age 54 and older are the least likely to be neighborhood busybodies.

Generation Z — people in the 18-24 age range — are 5.2 percent nosier than the national average, according to the survey. Millennials — age 25-34 — were 4.7 percent nosier than the national average.

Ruane, who includes herself in those groups, says that may be because those folks are committed to live truthful, transparent and authentic lives and expect their neighbors to do the same.

“We share more virtually and have an eye into each other’s words virtually,” she said. “Maybe it gives us more implied permission to do the same thing physically.”

By age group:

1. 18-24: 5.2 percent nosier than the national average
2. 25-34: 4.7 percent nosier than the national average
3. 35-44: 4.3 percent nosier than the national average
4. 45-54: 0.6 percent less nosy than the national average
5. 55-64: 7.9 percent less nosy than the national average
6. 65 and older: 6.1 percent less nosy than the national average

» Read more about the study.