Best Places60051, IL Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 60051, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Local pay runs high here, and housing takes the biggest bite out of it. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
60051 ranks 8,602nd of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on low disaster risk by a wide margin, and property taxes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 60051
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.
60051's strengths and weaknesses
Where 60051 ranks high
- Disaster safetyBetter than 90% of zip codes
- Low vacancyBetter than 90% of zip codes
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 90% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than 89% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than 89% of zip codes
Where 60051 ranks low
- Low property taxBetter than only 1% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 4% of zip codes
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 5% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$1,352 a month, better than only 12% of zip codes
- Short commute33.4 minutes each way, better than only 15% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 60051
A household needs to earn about $90,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 60051 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $112,255, 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 60051's effective rate of 2.31%, 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 9 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 60051
60051 runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 60051.
Who works in 60051, and how
Work in 60051 centers on manufacturing and retail trade. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 83%
- Work from home 15%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in 60051
60051 has more parkland per resident than 73% of zip codes. That concentrates in some parts of 60051 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 60051, month by month
60051 sees roughly 93 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 60051
Chicago O'Hare International sits about 31 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 60051
Schools across 60051 average a C−, better than 23% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Richmond Grade SchoolC · 31% proficient
- Prairie Grove Elem SchoolC− · 30% proficient
- Big Hollow Elem SchoolC− · 29% proficient
Top middle schools
- Nippersink Middle SchoolB− · 41% proficient
- Prairie Grove Junior High SchoolC− · 30% proficient
- Johnsburg Jr High SchoolD+ · 25% proficient
Top high schools
- Prairie Ridge High SchoolB+ · 52% proficient
- Richmond-burton High SchoolC+ · 35% proficient
- Wauconda High SchoolC− · 29% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 60051 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
60051 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 60051 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 60051 suits
Families
Schools land around the 23rd percentile and crime safety beats 73%.
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 90% of zip codes, internet is fast and widely advertised, and 15% already work from home.
Retirees
The weather beats 59% of zip codes and health care access beats 59%.
Common questions about living in 60051
Is 60051 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 60051 ranks 8,602nd of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on low disaster risk, few empty homes, and what local pay buys, 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 60051 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $285,993. The overall cost of living runs about 4% below the national average. Set against a $112,255 median income, cost of living beats 90% of zip codes.
Is 60051 safe?
Yes, 60051 is safer than 73% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $192 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 60051?
July highs average about 83 degrees, and January highs near 32 with lows near 19. That works out to about 93 pleasant days a year, more than 59% of zip codes.
Is 60051 good for families?
Schools beat 23% of zip codes, crime safety beats 73%, and childcare runs $1,352 a month.
Compare 60051 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 60051. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 60051 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.
60051 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 60051: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 60051: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 60051: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 60051: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
60051 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.