Best Places60551, IL Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 60551, 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.
60551 ranks 22,369th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. State finances pulls hardest against it, while it scores best on few empty homes.
The best neighborhoods in 60551
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.
60551's strengths and weaknesses
Where 60551 ranks high
- Low vacancyBetter than 87% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than 85% of zip codes
- Heat safetyBetter than 80% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than 76% of zip codes
- Household income$90,680 median, better than 72% of zip codes
Where 60551 ranks low
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 4% of zip codes
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 5% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than only 5% of zip codes
- Short commute38.4 minutes each way, better than only 6% of zip codes
- School gradeD, better than only 8% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 60551
A household needs to earn about $79,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 60551 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $90,680, 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 60551's effective rate of 1.85%, 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 60551
60551 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 60551.
Who works in 60551, and how
Work in 60551 centers on manufacturing and construction. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 90%
- Work from home 8%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in 60551
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 60551.
What the weather is like in 60551, month by month
60551 sees roughly 72 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 84 degrees. January highs sit near 33, with lows near 19. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 33° | 25° | 19° |
| April | 63° | 50° | 40° |
| July | 84° | 74° | 65° |
| October | 66° | 54° | 45° |
Flying in and out of 60551
Chicago O'Hare International sits about 51 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 60551
Schools across 60551 average a D, better than 8% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Harding Grade SchoolC · 35% proficient
- Milton Pope Elem SchoolC · 33% proficient
- Newark Elem SchoolD+ · 25% proficient
Top middle schools
- Somonauk Middle SchoolA− · 53% proficient
- Millbrook Junior High SchoolC+ · 38% proficient
- Serena Middle SchoolD+ · 25% proficient
Top high schools
- Newark Comm High SchoolC− · 30% proficient
- Leland High SchoolD+ · 25% proficient
- Somonauk High SchoolD · 23% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 60551 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
60551 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 60551 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 60551
Is 60551 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 60551 ranks 22,369th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on few empty homes, big-city access, and heat safety, and lowest on state finances and taxes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 60551 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $265,697. The overall cost of living runs about 6% below the national average. Set against a $90,680 median income, cost of living beats 67% of zip codes.
Is 60551 safe?
Yes, 60551 is safer than 63% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $216 per resident a year.
Compare 60551 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 60551. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 60551 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.
60551 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 60551: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 60551: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 60551: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 60551: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
60551 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.