Best Places60949, IL Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 60949, 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.
60949 ranks 27,413th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. The schools pulls hardest against it, while it scores best on state infrastructure.
The best neighborhoods in 60949
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.
60949's strengths and weaknesses
Where 60949 ranks high
- State infrastructureBetter than 76% of zip codes
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 75% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than 73% of zip codes
- Short commute23.1 minutes each way, better than 69% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than 67% of zip codes
Where 60949 ranks low
- School gradeD−, better than only 1% of zip codes
- Local economyBetter than only 3% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 4% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 57 pleasant days a year, better than only 4% of zip codes
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 5% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 60949
A household needs to earn about $42,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 60949 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $79,800, 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 60949's effective rate of 1.84%, 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 5 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 60949
60949's age mix sits close to the national median.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 60949.
Who works in 60949, and how
Work in 60949 centers on retail trade and health care & social. Unemployment runs well above the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 84%
- Work from home 7%
- Transit, walk, or bike 8%
Life in 60949
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 60949.
What the weather is like in 60949, month by month
60949 sees roughly 57 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 85 degrees. January highs sit near 35, with lows near 21. The comfortable stretch runs May through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 35° | 27° | 21° |
| April | 64° | 52° | 42° |
| July | 85° | 75° | 66° |
| October | 68° | 56° | 46° |
Flying in and out of 60949
The nearest airport, University of Illinois/Willard, is about 25 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Chicago Midway International, about 99 miles away.
The best schools in and around 60949
Schools across 60949 average a D−, better than 1% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Gifford Grade SchoolC · 33% proficient
- Clara Peterson Elem SchoolD+ · 25% proficient
- Ludlow Elementary SchoolF · 5% proficient
Top middle schools
- Paxton-buckley-loda Jr High SchC+ · 37% proficient
Top high schools
- Paxton-buckley-loda High SchoolC− · 28% proficient
- Armstrong High SchoolD− · 16% proficient
- Rantoul Twp High SchoolF · 8% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 60949 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
60949 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 60949 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 60949
Is 60949 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 60949 ranks 27,413th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on state infrastructure, cheap car insurance, and low disaster risk, and lowest on the schools and a weak job market. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 60949 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $142,301. The overall cost of living runs about 13% below the national average. Set against a $79,800 median income, cost of living beats 61% of zip codes.
Is 60949 safe?
60949 is safer than 39% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $279 per resident a year.
Compare 60949 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 60949. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 60949 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.
60949 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 60949: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 60949: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 60949: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 60949: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
60949 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.