Best Places60135, IL Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 60135, 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.
60135 ranks 14,038th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on few empty homes by a wide margin, and property taxes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 60135
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.
60135's strengths and weaknesses
Where 60135 ranks high
- Low vacancyBetter than 98% of zip codes
- Internet speedBetter than 88% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than 86% of zip codes
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 83% of zip codes
- Household income$105,023 median, better than 83% of zip codes
Where 60135 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 13% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than only 17% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 60135
A household needs to earn about $79,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 60135 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $105,023, 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 60135's effective rate of 2.10%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices and rents, renting stays cheaper than buying across the first 10 years here, so the case for buying rests on staying much longer or on prices rising faster than assumed. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 60135
60135 runs younger than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 60135.
Who works in 60135, and how
Work in 60135 centers on manufacturing and construction. Unemployment is low, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 85%
- Work from home 13%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in 60135
60135 has more parkland per resident than 95% of zip codes. That concentrates in some parts of 60135 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 60135, month by month
60135 sees roughly 73 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 83 degrees. January highs sit near 30, with lows near 17. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 30° | 23° | 17° |
| April | 59° | 47° | 38° |
| July | 83° | 73° | 64° |
| October | 63° | 52° | 43° |
Flying in and out of 60135
The nearest airport, Chicago/Rockford International, is about 22 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Chicago O'Hare International, about 41 miles away.
The best schools in and around 60135
Schools across 60135 average a D+, better than 13% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- North Grove Elementary SchoolC+ · 40% proficient
- Riley Comm Cons SchoolC · 35% proficient
- Gary D Wright Elem SchD+ · 24% proficient
Top middle schools
- Genoa-kingston Middle SchoolC · 32% proficient
- Hampshire Middle SchoolD · 22% proficient
- Belvidere South Middle SchoolF · 8% proficient
Top high schools
- Marengo High SchoolC+ · 35% proficient
- Genoa-kingston High SchoolD · 23% proficient
- Belvidere High SchoolD− · 16% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 60135 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
60135 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 60135 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 60135
Is 60135 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 60135 ranks 14,038th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on few empty homes, fast internet, 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 60135 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $256,078. The overall cost of living runs about 3% below the national average. Set against a $105,023 median income, cost of living beats 83% of zip codes.
Is 60135 safe?
Yes, 60135 is safer than 58% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $236 per resident a year.
Compare 60135 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 60135. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 60135 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.
60135 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 60135: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 60135: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 60135: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 60135: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
60135 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.