Best Places61043, IL Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 61043, 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.
61043 ranks 6,349th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on low crime by a wide margin, and property taxes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 61043
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.
61043's strengths and weaknesses
Where 61043 ranks high
- Crime safetyBetter than 99% of zip codes
- Heat safetyBetter than 94% of zip codes
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 92% of zip codes
- Household income$118,090 median, better than 89% of zip codes
- Low vacancyBetter than 87% of zip codes
Where 61043 ranks low
- Low property taxBetter than only 3% of zip codes
- Internet speedBetter 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
- Short commute34.3 minutes each way, better than only 13% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 61043
A household needs to earn about $65,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 61043 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $118,090, 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 61043's effective rate of 2.01%, 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 61043
61043 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 61043.
Who works in 61043, and how
Work in 61043 centers on education and manufacturing. Unemployment is low, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 91%
- Work from home 8%
- Transit, walk, or bike 1%
Life in 61043
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 61043.
What the weather is like in 61043, month by month
61043 sees roughly 74 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 61043
The nearest airport, Chicago/Rockford International, is about 9 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Chicago O'Hare International, about 62 miles away.
The best schools in and around 61043
Schools across 61043 average a C, better than 30% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Kings Elementary SchoolC · 35% proficient
- Monroe Center Grade SchoolC− · 26% proficient
Top middle schools
- Meridian Jr High SchoolC · 35% proficient
Top high schools
- Stillman Valley High SchoolC · 33% proficient
- Rochelle Twp High SchoolD · 20% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 61043 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
61043 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 61043 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 61043
Is 61043 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 61043 ranks 6,349th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on low crime, heat safety, and what local pay buys, and lowest on property taxes and internet speeds. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 61043 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $213,004. The overall cost of living runs about 9% below the national average. Set against a $118,090 median income, cost of living beats 92% of zip codes.
Is 61043 safe?
Yes, 61043 is safer than 99% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $95 per resident a year.
Compare 61043 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 61043. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 61043 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.
61043 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 61043: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 61043: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 61043: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 61043: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
61043 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.