Best Places61016, IL Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 61016, 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.
61016 ranks 12,564th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. Property taxes pulls hardest against it, while it scores best on few empty homes.
The best neighborhoods in 61016
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.
61016's strengths and weaknesses
Where 61016 ranks high
- Low vacancyBetter than 89% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than 82% of zip codes
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 80% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than 80% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than 79% of zip codes
Where 61016 ranks low
- Low property taxBetter 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
- QuietBetter than only 23% of zip codes
- Cheap childcare$1,097 a month, better than only 25% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 61016
A household needs to earn about $73,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 61016 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $91,469, 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 61016's effective rate of 2.32%, 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 61016
61016 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 61016.
Who works in 61016, and how
Work in 61016 centers on manufacturing and retail trade. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 87%
- Work from home 11%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in 61016
61016 has more parkland per resident than 98% of zip codes. That concentrates in some parts of 61016 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 61016, month by month
61016 sees roughly 70 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 87 degrees. January highs sit near 33, with lows near 16. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 33° | 24° | 16° |
| April | 63° | 49° | 37° |
| July | 87° | 75° | 63° |
| October | 67° | 53° | 42° |
Flying in and out of 61016
The nearest airport, Chicago/Rockford International, is about 7 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Chicago O'Hare International, about 57 miles away.
The best schools in and around 61016
Schools across 61016 average a C−, better than 32% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Hiawatha Elem Sch Prek-5C− · 30% proficient
- Cherry Valley Elementary SchoolD · 17% proficient
- Arthur Froberg Elem SchoolF · 10% proficient
Top middle schools
- Thurgood Marshall SchoolA+ · 82% proficient
- Belvidere South Middle SchoolF · 8% proficient
Top high schools
- Belvidere High SchoolD− · 16% proficient
- Hiawatha Jr/sr High SchoolD− · 13% proficient
- Roosevelt CenterF · 4% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 61016 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
61016 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 61016 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 61016
Is 61016 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 61016 ranks 12,564th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on few empty homes, big-city access, and what local pay buys, and lowest on property taxes and state finances. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 61016 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $231,025. The overall cost of living runs about 11% below the national average. Set against a $91,469 median income, cost of living beats 80% of zip codes.
Is 61016 safe?
Yes, 61016 is safer than 75% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $212 per resident a year.
Compare 61016 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 61016. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 61016 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.
61016 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 61016: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 61016: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 61016: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 61016: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
61016 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.