Best Places60561, IL Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 60561, 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.
60561 ranks 4,944th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on big-city access by a wide margin, and state finances rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 60561
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.
60561's strengths and weaknesses
Where 60561 ranks high
- Big-city accessBetter than 95% of zip codes
- Low vacancyBetter than 92% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than 90% of zip codes
- Educational attainmentBetter than 89% of zip codes
- Health outlookBetter than 89% of zip codes
Where 60561 ranks low
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 4% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$1,560 a month, better than only 4% of zip codes
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 5% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than only 8% of zip codes
- Air qualityBetter than only 12% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 60561
A household needs to earn about $117,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 60561 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $112,591; the gap is small, which keeps homes within reach of local pay.
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 60561's effective rate of 1.71%, 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 60561
60561 runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 60561.
Who works in 60561, and how
Work in 60561 centers on professional & technical and health care & social. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 74%
- Work from home 21%
- Transit, walk, or bike 5%
Life in 60561
60561 has more parkland per resident than 79% of zip codes. That concentrates in some parts of 60561 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 60561, month by month
60561 sees roughly 79 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 84 degrees. January highs sit near 32, with lows near 20. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 32° | 26° | 20° |
| April | 60° | 49° | 40° |
| July | 84° | 75° | 66° |
| October | 65° | 54° | 46° |
Flying in and out of 60561
Chicago Midway International sits about 12 miles away. It is a large hub and boarded 9.4 million passengers in 2025, with 113 nonstop destinations.
The best schools in and around 60561
Schools across 60561 average a C+, better than 48% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Gower West Elem SchoolA · 65% proficient
- Prairieview Elementary SchoolB− · 44% proficient
- River Valley SchoolB− · 43% proficient
Top middle schools
- Gower Middle SchoolA− · 55% proficient
- Westview Hills Middle SchoolB+ · 49% proficient
- Old Quarry Middle SchB · 46% proficient
Top high schools
- Lemont Twp High SchoolB · 47% proficient
- Hinsdale South High SchoolB− · 45% proficient
- Comm H S Dist 99 - South High SchB− · 41% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 60561 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
60561 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 60561 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 60561 suits
Families
Schools land around the 48th percentile and crime safety beats 66%.
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 86% of zip codes, internet is fast and widely advertised, and 21% already work from home.
Common questions about living in 60561
Is 60561 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 60561 ranks 4,944th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on big-city access, few empty homes, and biking, and lowest on state finances and childcare costs. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 60561 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $398,458. The overall cost of living runs about 1% above the national average. Set against a $112,591 median income, cost of living beats 86% of zip codes.
Is 60561 safe?
Yes, 60561 is safer than 66% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $203 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 60561?
July highs average about 84 degrees, and January highs near 32 with lows near 20. That works out to about 79 pleasant days a year, more than 42% of zip codes.
Is 60561 good for families?
Schools beat 48% of zip codes, crime safety beats 66%, and childcare runs $1,560 a month.
Compare 60561 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 60561. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 60561 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.
60561 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 60561: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 60561: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 60561: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 60561: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
60561 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.