Best Places60178, IL Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 60178, 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.
60178 ranks 6,096th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on fast internet by a wide margin, and property taxes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 60178
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.
60178's strengths and weaknesses
Where 60178 ranks high
- Internet speedBetter than 91% of zip codes
- Educational attainmentBetter than 88% of zip codes
- Heat safetyBetter than 88% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than 87% of zip codes
- Low vacancyBetter than 85% of zip codes
Where 60178 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
- Air qualityBetter than only 19% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$1,237 a month, better than only 19% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 60178
A household needs to earn about $88,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 60178 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $99,922, 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 60178's effective rate of 2.27%, 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 60178
60178 runs younger than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 60178.
Who works in 60178, and how
Work in 60178 centers on manufacturing and health care & social. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 80%
- Work from home 13%
- Transit, walk, or bike 7%
Life in 60178
60178 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 68% of zip codes and more parkland per resident than 90% of zip codes. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 60178 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 60178, month by month
60178 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 60178
The nearest airport, Chicago/Rockford International, is about 25 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Chicago O'Hare International, about 40 miles away.
The best schools in and around 60178
Schools across 60178 average a C−, better than 21% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- North Grove Elementary SchoolC+ · 40% proficient
- Southeast Elem SchoolC · 35% proficient
- North Elementary SchoolC− · 30% proficient
Top middle schools
- Prairie Knolls Middle SchB− · 43% proficient
- Kaneland Harter Middle SchoolD+ · 25% proficient
- Sycamore Middle SchoolD · 23% proficient
Top high schools
- Central High SchoolB− · 45% proficient
- Kaneland Senior High SchoolC+ · 39% proficient
- Sycamore High SchoolC · 33% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 60178 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
60178 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 60178 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 60178 suits
Families
Schools land around the 21st percentile and crime safety beats 80%.
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 81% of zip codes, internet is fast and widely advertised, and 13% already work from home.
Common questions about living in 60178
Is 60178 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 60178 ranks 6,096th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on fast internet, an educated workforce, and heat safety, 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 60178 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $281,745. The overall cost of living runs about 5% below the national average. Set against a $99,922 median income, cost of living beats 81% of zip codes.
Is 60178 safe?
Yes, 60178 is safer than 80% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $179 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 60178?
July highs average about 83 degrees, and January highs near 30 with lows near 17. That works out to about 73 pleasant days a year, more than 31% of zip codes.
Is 60178 good for families?
Schools beat 21% of zip codes, crime safety beats 80%, and childcare runs $1,237 a month.
Compare 60178 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 60178. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 60178 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.
60178 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 60178: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 60178: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 60178: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 60178: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
60178 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.