Best Places61554, IL Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 61554, 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.
61554 ranks 23,023rd of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. The weather pulls hardest against it, while it scores best on cell coverage.
The best neighborhoods in 61554
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.
61554's strengths and weaknesses
Where 61554 ranks high
- Cell coverageBetter than 85% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than 82% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than 81% of zip codes
- TransitBetter than 81% of zip codes
- Short commute21.7 minutes each way, better than 77% of zip codes
Where 61554 ranks low
- Nice weatherabout 56 pleasant days a year, better 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
- Low property taxBetter than only 5% of zip codes
- School gradeD, better than only 8% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 61554
A household needs to earn about $43,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 61554 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $70,125, 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 61554's effective rate of 1.90%, 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 5 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 61554
61554 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 61554.
Who works in 61554, and how
Work in 61554 centers on health care & social and manufacturing. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 89%
- Work from home 8%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in 61554
61554 has more parkland per resident than 82% of zip codes. That concentrates in some parts of 61554 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 61554, month by month
61554 sees roughly 56 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 88 degrees. January highs sit near 36, with lows near 18. The comfortable stretch runs May, June, and August through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 36° | 27° | 18° |
| April | 66° | 52° | 40° |
| July | 88° | 77° | 66° |
| October | 70° | 56° | 45° |
Flying in and out of 61554
The nearest airport, General Downing - Peoria International, is about 8 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Chicago Midway International, about 129 miles away.
The best schools in and around 61554
Schools across 61554 average a D, better than 8% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Tremont Elem SchoolB · 45% proficient
- Hollis Consolidated Grade SchB− · 40% proficient
- Rankin Elem SchoolC− · 28% proficient
Top middle schools
- Tremont Middle SchoolB+ · 48% proficient
- Midwest Central Middle SchoolD+ · 25% proficient
- Georgetown Middle SchoolD · 23% proficient
Top high schools
- Tremont High SchoolC+ · 35% proficient
- Pekin Community High SchoolD · 23% proficient
- East Peoria High SchoolD− · 16% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 61554 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
61554 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 61554 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 61554 suits
Retirees
Set weather, quiet, and health care weights on the map to test the fit.
Common questions about living in 61554
Is 61554 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 61554 ranks 23,023rd of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on cell coverage, biking, and walkability, and lowest on the weather and state finances. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 61554 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $142,442. The overall cost of living runs about 14% below the national average. Set against a $70,125 median income, cost of living beats 49% of zip codes.
Is 61554 safe?
61554 is safer than 35% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $305 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 61554?
July highs average about 88 degrees, and January highs near 36 with lows near 18. That works out to about 56 pleasant days a year, more than 4% of zip codes.
Is 61554 good for families?
Schools beat 8% of zip codes, crime safety beats 35%, and childcare runs $1,088 a month.
Compare 61554 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 61554. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 61554 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.
61554 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 61554: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 61554: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 61554: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 61554: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
61554 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.