Best Places61241, IL Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 61241, 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.
61241 ranks 19,089th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on a stable housing market by a wide margin, and property taxes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 61241
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.
61241's strengths and weaknesses
Where 61241 ranks high
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 99% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than 90% of zip codes
- Internet speedBetter than 88% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than 83% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than 76% of zip codes
Where 61241 ranks low
- Low property taxBetter 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
- School gradeD, better than only 6% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 61 pleasant days a year, better than only 10% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 61241
A household needs to earn about $53,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 61241 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $82,942, 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 61241's effective rate of 1.98%, 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 61241
61241 runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 61241.
Who works in 61241, and how
Work in 61241 centers on retail trade and manufacturing. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 86%
- Work from home 11%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in 61241
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 61241.
What the weather is like in 61241, month by month
61241 sees roughly 61 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 88 degrees. January highs sit near 35, with lows near 16. The comfortable stretch runs May, June, and August through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 35° | 25° | 16° |
| April | 66° | 51° | 39° |
| July | 88° | 76° | 65° |
| October | 69° | 55° | 43° |
Flying in and out of 61241
The nearest airport, Quad Cities International, is about 9 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Chicago O'Hare International, about 130 miles away.
The best schools in and around 61241
Schools across 61241 average a D, better than 6% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- C R Hanna Elem SchoolC+ · 37% proficient
- Southwest Elem SchoolD+ · 25% proficient
- Northside Elem SchoolD+ · 25% proficient
Top middle schools
- Orion Middle SchoolB− · 43% proficient
- Geneseo Middle SchoolD− · 18% proficient
Top high schools
- Geneseo High SchoolC+ · 35% proficient
- Orion High SchoolC · 33% proficient
- United Twp High SchoolD− · 14% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 61241 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
61241 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 61241 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 61241
Is 61241 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 61241 ranks 19,089th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on a stable housing market, civic engagement, and fast internet, 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 61241 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $173,574. The overall cost of living runs about 16% below the national average. Set against a $82,942 median income, cost of living beats 74% of zip codes.
Is 61241 safe?
61241 is safer than 54% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $241 per resident a year.
Compare 61241 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 61241. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 61241 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.
61241 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 61241: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 61241: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 61241: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 61241: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
61241 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.