Best Places61042, IL Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 61042, 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.
61042 ranks 15,416th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. Internet speeds pulls hardest against it, while it scores best on what local pay buys.
The best neighborhoods in 61042
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.
61042's strengths and weaknesses
Where 61042 ranks high
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 87% of zip codes
- Household income$103,082 median, better than 82% of zip codes
- Local economyBetter than 81% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than 76% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than 72% of zip codes
Where 61042 ranks low
- Internet speedBetter than only 4% of zip codes
- State fiscal healthBetter 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
- BikingBetter than only 11% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 61042
A household needs to earn about $64,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 61042 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $103,082, 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 61042's effective rate of 1.68%, 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 61042
61042 runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 61042.
Who works in 61042, and how
Work in 61042 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 81%
- Work from home 14%
- Transit, walk, or bike 5%
Life in 61042
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 61042.
What the weather is like in 61042, month by month
61042 sees roughly 84 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 84 degrees. January highs sit near 32, with lows near 17. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 32° | 24° | 17° |
| April | 62° | 49° | 39° |
| July | 84° | 74° | 64° |
| October | 64° | 53° | 44° |
Flying in and out of 61042
The nearest airport, Chicago/Rockford International, is about 42 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Chicago O'Hare International, about 88 miles away.
The best schools in and around 61042
Schools across 61042 average a D+, better than 16% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Amboy Central Elem SchoolB− · 43% proficient
- Ohio Com Cons Grade SchoolD+ · 25% proficient
- Montmorency Ccsd #145D+ · 25% proficient
Top middle schools
- Reagan Middle SchoolD− · 16% proficient
- Amboy Jr High SchoolD− · 16% proficient
Top high schools
- Rock Falls Township High SchoolD+ · 25% proficient
- Dixon High SchoolD+ · 25% proficient
- Amboy High SchoolD · 20% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 61042 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
61042 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 61042 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 61042
Is 61042 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 61042 ranks 15,416th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on what local pay buys, high incomes, and a strong job market, and lowest on internet speeds and state finances. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 61042 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $216,956. The overall cost of living runs about 10% below the national average. Set against a $103,082 median income, cost of living beats 87% of zip codes.
Is 61042 safe?
61042 is safer than 44% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $264 per resident a year.
Compare 61042 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 61042. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 61042 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.
61042 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 61042: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 61042: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 61042: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 61042: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
61042 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.