Best Places61443, IL Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 61443, 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.
61443 ranks 25,096th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on a stable housing market by a wide margin, and state finances rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 61443
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.
61443's strengths and weaknesses
Where 61443 ranks high
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 99% of zip codes
- Internet speedBetter than 86% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than 84% of zip codes
- Short commute21.0 minutes each way, better than 81% of zip codes
- Cell coverageBetter than 80% of zip codes
Where 61443 ranks low
- 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 8% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than only 8% of zip codes
- Local economyBetter than only 10% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 61443
A household needs to earn about $26,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 61443 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $56,286, 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 61443's effective rate of 1.71%, 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 2 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 61443
61443 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 61443.
Who works in 61443, and how
Work in 61443 centers on manufacturing and health care & social. Unemployment runs well above the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 84%
- Work from home 10%
- Transit, walk, or bike 6%
Life in 61443
61443 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 73% of zip codes and more parkland per resident than 97% of zip codes. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 61443 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 61443, month by month
61443 sees roughly 78 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 September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 33° | 25° | 19° |
| April | 62° | 50° | 41° |
| July | 84° | 74° | 66° |
| October | 65° | 54° | 45° |
Flying in and out of 61443
The nearest airport, Quad Cities International, is about 33 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Chicago O'Hare International, about 116 miles away.
The best schools in and around 61443
Schools across 61443 average a D, better than 8% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Cambridge Comm Grade SchoolB− · 43% proficient
- Annawan Grade SchoolC− · 28% proficient
- Neponset Grade SchoolC− · 28% proficient
Top middle schools
- Central Junior HighD− · 16% proficient
- Central ElemF · 10% proficient
Top high schools
- Wethersfield Jr/sr High SchoolC− · 30% proficient
- Cambridge Jr/sr High SchoolD · 23% proficient
- Galva Jr-sr High SchoolD · 20% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 61443 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
61443 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 61443 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 61443
Is 61443 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 61443 ranks 25,096th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on a stable housing market, fast internet, and walkability, 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 61443 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $88,263. The overall cost of living runs about 22% below the national average. Set against a $56,286 median income, cost of living beats 33% of zip codes.
Is 61443 safe?
61443 is safer than 31% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $313 per resident a year.
Compare 61443 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 61443. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 61443 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.
61443 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 61443: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 61443: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 61443: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 61443: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
61443 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.