Best Places60609, IL Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 60609, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Several measures below read low, and the ranked lists name which ones. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
60609 ranks 22,312th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on transit by a wide margin, and thin health care access ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 60609
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.
60609's strengths and weaknesses
Where 60609 ranks high
- TransitBetter than 99% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than 98% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than 98% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than 97% of zip codes
- Cell coverageBetter than 93% of zip codes
Where 60609 ranks low
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 3% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 3% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 4% of zip codes
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 5% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than only 6% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 60609
A household needs to earn about $74,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 60609 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $65,323, so buying stretches a typical household.
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 60609's effective rate of 1.22%, 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 60609
60609 runs younger than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 60609.
Who works in 60609, and how
Work in 60609 centers on manufacturing and health care & social. Unemployment runs well above the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 65%
- Work from home 14%
- Transit, walk, or bike 21%
Life in 60609
60609 has more parkland per resident than 68% of zip codes. That concentrates in some parts of 60609 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 60609, month by month
60609 sees roughly 76 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 86 degrees. January highs sit near 34, with lows near 22. The comfortable stretch runs May, June, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 34° | 28° | 22° |
| April | 61° | 50° | 43° |
| July | 86° | 77° | 70° |
| October | 66° | 57° | 49° |
Flying in and out of 60609
Chicago Midway International sits about 5 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 60609
Schools across 60609 average a C+, better than 39% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Bronzeville Classical Elem SchB+ · 55% proficient
- Stem Magnet Academy ElemB+ · 53% proficient
- Cics - Basil CampusD− · 13% proficient
Top middle schools
- Veterans Memorial Middle SchD+ · 25% proficient
- Evergreen Academy Elem SchoolD− · 15% proficient
- Shields Middle SchoolF · 6% proficient
Top high schools
- Back Of The Yards Ib HsD · 19% proficient
- Tilden Career Communty Academy HsF · 5% proficient
- Richards Career Academy HsF · 3% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 60609 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
60609 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 60609 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 60609 suits
Retirees
Set weather, quiet, and health care weights on the map to test the fit.
Common questions about living in 60609
Is 60609 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 60609 ranks 22,312th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on transit, walkability, and biking, and lowest on thin health care access and civic engagement. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 60609 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $266,617. The overall cost of living runs about 5% below the national average. Set against a $65,323 median income, cost of living beats 21% of zip codes.
Is 60609 safe?
60609 is safer than 6% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $587 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 60609?
July highs average about 86 degrees, and January highs near 34 with lows near 22. That works out to about 76 pleasant days a year, more than 36% of zip codes.
Is 60609 good for families?
Schools beat 39% of zip codes, crime safety beats 6%, and childcare runs $1,105 a month.
Compare 60609 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 60609. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 60609 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.
60609 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 60609: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 60609: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 60609: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 60609: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
60609 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.