Best Places61326, IL Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 61326, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Several measures below read low, and the ranked lists name which ones. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
61326 ranks 18,745th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on civic engagement by a wide margin, and state finances rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 61326
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.
61326's strengths and weaknesses
Where 61326 ranks high
- Voter turnoutBetter than 93% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 88% of zip codes
- Crime safetyBetter than 82% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than 76% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than 74% of zip codes
Where 61326 ranks low
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 4% of zip codes
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 5% of zip codes
- Local economyBetter than only 9% of zip codes
- School gradeD, better than only 10% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than only 12% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 61326
A household needs to earn about $40,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 61326 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $71,061, 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 61326's effective rate of 1.52%, 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 7 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 61326
61326 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 61326.
Who works in 61326, and how
Work in 61326 centers on manufacturing and health care & social. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 94%
- Work from home 4%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in 61326
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 61326.
What the weather is like in 61326, month by month
61326 sees roughly 64 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 61326
The nearest airport, General Downing - Peoria International, is about 48 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Chicago O'Hare International, about 84 miles away.
The best schools in and around 61326
Schools across 61326 average a D, better than 10% of zip codes.
Top middle schools
- Putnam County Jr High SchoolF · 13% proficient
Top high schools
- Putnam County High SchoolD+ · 25% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 61326 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
61326 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 61326 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 61326
Is 61326 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 61326 ranks 18,745th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on civic engagement, a stable housing market, and low crime, 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 61326 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $140,567. The overall cost of living runs about 13% below the national average. Set against a $71,061 median income, cost of living beats 51% of zip codes.
Is 61326 safe?
Yes, 61326 is safer than 82% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $169 per resident a year.
Compare 61326 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 61326. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 61326 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.
61326 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 61326: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 61326: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 61326: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 61326: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
61326 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.