Best Places61325, IL Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 61325, 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.
61325 ranks 18,015th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. State finances pulls hardest against it, while it scores best on low disaster risk.
The best neighborhoods in 61325
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.
61325's strengths and weaknesses
Where 61325 ranks high
- Disaster safetyBetter than 82% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than 80% of zip codes
- Cell coverageBetter than 78% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than 77% of zip codes
- Internet speedBetter than 76% of zip codes
Where 61325 ranks low
- 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
- Nice weatherabout 62 pleasant days a year, better than only 11% of zip codes
- Tree shadeBetter than only 14% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 61325
A household needs to earn about $60,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 61325 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $82,995, 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 61325'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, buying tends to cost more than renting for about the first 9 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 61325
61325 runs younger than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 61325.
Who works in 61325, and how
Work in 61325 centers on retail trade and manufacturing. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 94%
- Work from home 4%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in 61325
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 61325.
What the weather is like in 61325, month by month
61325 sees roughly 62 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 84 degrees. January highs sit near 33, with lows near 19. The comfortable stretch runs May through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 33° | 26° | 19° |
| April | 63° | 51° | 41° |
| July | 84° | 75° | 66° |
| October | 66° | 55° | 46° |
Flying in and out of 61325
The nearest airport, Central Il Regional/Bloomington- Normal, is about 53 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Chicago Midway International, about 67 miles away.
The best schools in and around 61325
Schools across 61325 average a C, better than 29% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Seneca Grade School North CampusC+ · 38% proficient
- Grand Ridge SchoolC+ · 38% proficient
- Deer Park C C Elem SchoolD+ · 25% proficient
Top middle schools
- Seneca Elem School South CampusC− · 30% proficient
Top high schools
- Seneca High SchoolC− · 30% proficient
- Ottawa Township High SchoolD · 20% proficient
- Streator Twp High SchoolD− · 15% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 61325 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
61325 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 61325 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 61325
Is 61325 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 61325 ranks 18,015th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on low disaster risk, big-city access, and cell coverage, and lowest on state finances and taxes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 61325 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $204,760. The overall cost of living runs about 12% below the national average. Set against a $82,995 median income, cost of living beats 69% of zip codes.
Is 61325 safe?
61325 is safer than 39% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $282 per resident a year.
Compare 61325 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 61325. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 61325 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.
61325 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 61325: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 61325: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 61325: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 61325: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
61325 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.