Best Places60645, IL Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 60645, 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.
60645 ranks 8,439th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on biking by a wide margin, and the weather ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 60645
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.
60645's strengths and weaknesses
Where 60645 ranks high
- BikingBetter than 99% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than 99% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than 98% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than 96% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than 92% of zip codes
Where 60645 ranks low
- Nice weatherabout 50 pleasant days a year, better 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
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 10% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than only 16% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 60645
A household needs to earn about $96,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 60645 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $79,702, 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 60645's effective rate of 1.26%, 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 9 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 60645
60645 runs younger than the country, and households here run larger than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 60645.
Who works in 60645, and how
Work in 60645 centers on health care & social and education. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 65%
- Work from home 15%
- Transit, walk, or bike 20%
Life in 60645
60645 has fewer places to eat and drink per resident than most zip codes and more parkland per resident than 69% of zip codes. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 60645 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 60645, month by month
60645 sees roughly 50 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 87 degrees. January highs sit near 35, with lows near 19. The comfortable stretch runs May, June, and August through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 35° | 26° | 19° |
| April | 62° | 49° | 39° |
| July | 87° | 76° | 66° |
| October | 67° | 56° | 46° |
Flying in and out of 60645
Chicago O'Hare International sits about 11 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 60645
Schools across 60645 average a C+, better than 44% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Decatur Classical Elem SchoolA+ · 78% proficient
- Stem Magnet Academy ElemB+ · 53% proficient
- Rogers Elem SchoolC · 32% proficient
Top middle schools
- Lincoln Hall Middle SchoolD+ · 26% proficient
Top high schools
- Niles West High SchoolC+ · 40% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 60645 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
60645 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 60645 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 60645 suits
Retirees
Set weather, quiet, and health care weights on the map to test the fit.
Common questions about living in 60645
Is 60645 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 60645 ranks 8,439th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on biking, transit, and walkability, and lowest on the weather and state finances. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 60645 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $346,353. The overall cost of living runs about 4% below the national average. Set against a $79,702 median income, cost of living beats 49% of zip codes.
Is 60645 safe?
60645 is safer than 16% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $399 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 60645?
July highs average about 87 degrees, and January highs near 35 with lows near 19. That works out to about 50 pleasant days a year, more than 1% of zip codes.
Is 60645 good for families?
Schools beat 44% of zip codes, crime safety beats 16%, and childcare runs $1,105 a month.
Compare 60645 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 60645. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 60645 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.
60645 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 60645: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 60645: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 60645: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 60645: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
60645 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.