Best Places60020, IL Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 60020, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. This page is for people who live here or already know they want to. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
60020 ranks 17,652nd of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on cell coverage by a wide margin, and property taxes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 60020
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.
60020's strengths and weaknesses
Where 60020 ranks high
- Cell coverageBetter than 91% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than 90% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than 89% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than 84% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than 81% of zip codes
Where 60020 ranks low
- Low property taxBetter than only 2% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 4% of zip codes
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 5% of zip codes
- School gradeD, better than only 6% of zip codes
- Short commute33.3 minutes each way, better than only 15% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 60020
A household needs to earn about $74,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 60020 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $84,337, 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 60020's effective rate of 2.21%, 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 10 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 60020
60020 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 60020.
Who works in 60020, and how
Work in 60020 centers on retail trade and manufacturing. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 79%
- Work from home 16%
- Transit, walk, or bike 5%
Life in 60020
60020 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 84% of zip codes. That concentrates in some parts of 60020 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 60020, month by month
60020 sees roughly 94 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 83 degrees. January highs sit near 32, with lows near 19. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 32° | 25° | 19° |
| April | 56° | 46° | 37° |
| July | 83° | 73° | 65° |
| October | 63° | 54° | 45° |
Flying in and out of 60020
Chicago O'Hare International sits about 32 miles away. It is a large hub and boarded 40.8 million passengers in 2025, with 305 nonstop destinations.
The best schools in and around 60020
Schools across 60020 average a D, better than 6% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Big Hollow Elem SchoolC− · 29% proficient
- Spring Grove Elementary SchoolC− · 28% proficient
- Landmark Elem SchoolD+ · 25% proficient
Top middle schools
- Nippersink Middle SchoolB− · 41% proficient
- Mchenry Middle SchoolD · 23% proficient
- Big Hollow Middle SchoolD · 22% proficient
Top high schools
- Richmond-burton High SchoolC+ · 35% proficient
- Johnsburg High SchoolC− · 28% proficient
- Grant Community High SchoolD+ · 25% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 60020 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
60020 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 60020 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 60020
Is 60020 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 60020 ranks 17,652nd of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on cell coverage, low disaster risk, and big-city access, 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 60020 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $237,723. The overall cost of living runs about 6% below the national average. Set against a $84,337 median income, cost of living beats 65% of zip codes.
Is 60020 safe?
60020 is safer than 54% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $250 per resident a year.
Compare 60020 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 60020. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 60020 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.
60020 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 60020: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 60020: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 60020: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 60020: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
60020 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.