Best Places61259, IL Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 61259, 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.
61259 ranks 13,158th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on quiet by a wide margin, and property taxes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 61259
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.
61259's strengths and weaknesses
Where 61259 ranks high
- QuietBetter than 91% of zip codes
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 89% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than 87% of zip codes
- Healthcare accessBetter than 85% of zip codes
- Disaster safetyBetter than 85% of zip codes
Where 61259 ranks low
- Low property taxBetter 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
- BikingBetter than only 9% of zip codes
- Internet speedBetter than only 14% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 61259
A household needs to earn about $63,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 61259 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $94,794, 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 61259's effective rate of 2.07%, 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 61259
61259 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 61259.
Who works in 61259, and how
Work in 61259 centers on manufacturing and education. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 93%
- Work from home 3%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in 61259
61259 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 99% of zip codes. That concentrates in some parts of 61259 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 61259, month by month
61259 sees roughly 66 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 86 degrees. January highs sit near 33, with lows near 18. The comfortable stretch runs May, June, August, and September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 33° | 25° | 18° |
| April | 63° | 51° | 41° |
| July | 86° | 76° | 66° |
| October | 66° | 54° | 44° |
Flying in and out of 61259
The nearest airport, Quad Cities International, is about 22 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Chicago O'Hare International, about 161 miles away.
The best schools in and around 61259
Schools across 61259 average a C, better than 34% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- New Boston Elem SchoolF · 8% proficient
Top middle schools
- Rockridge Jr High SchoolD+ · 26% proficient
- Mercer County Jr High SchoolD · 22% proficient
Top high schools
- Rockridge High SchoolC+ · 40% proficient
- Mercer County High SchoolD− · 18% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 61259 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
61259 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 61259 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 61259
Is 61259 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 61259 ranks 13,158th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on quiet, what local pay buys, and civic engagement, 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 61259 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $205,880. The overall cost of living runs about 17% below the national average. Set against a $94,794 median income, cost of living beats 89% of zip codes.
Is 61259 safe?
61259 is safer than 43% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $268 per resident a year.
Compare 61259 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 61259. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 61259 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.
61259 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 61259: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 61259: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 61259: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 61259: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
61259 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.