Best Places61704, IL Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 61704, 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.
61704 ranks 3,501st of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on cell coverage by a wide margin, and property taxes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in 61704
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.
61704's strengths and weaknesses
Where 61704 ranks high
- Cell coverageBetter than 95% of zip codes
- Short commute16.9 minutes each way, better than 94% of zip codes
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 92% of zip codes
- BikingBetter than 92% of zip codes
- Health outlookBetter than 91% of zip codes
Where 61704 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
- Cheap childcare$1,405 a month, better than only 9% of zip codes
- Tree shadeBetter than only 21% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 61704
A household needs to earn about $83,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 61704 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $117,194, 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 61704'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 61704
61704's age mix sits close to the national median.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 61704.
Who works in 61704, and how
Work in 61704 centers on finance & insurance and health care & social. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 74%
- Work from home 23%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in 61704
61704 has more restaurants and bars per resident than 67% of zip codes and more parkland per resident than 88% of zip codes. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of 61704 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 61704, month by month
61704 sees roughly 83 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 85 degrees. January highs sit near 35, with lows near 20. The comfortable stretch runs May through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 35° | 26° | 20° |
| April | 63° | 51° | 41° |
| July | 85° | 75° | 66° |
| October | 66° | 55° | 46° |
Flying in and out of 61704
The nearest airport, Central Il Regional/Bloomington- Normal, is about 1 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Chicago Midway International, about 109 miles away.
The best schools in and around 61704
Schools across 61704 average a C−, better than 24% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Tri-valley Elem SchoolA · 63% proficient
- Benjamin Elem SchoolB · 50% proficient
- Northpoint Elementary SchoolB · 48% proficient
Top middle schools
- Tri-valley Middle SchoolB+ · 52% proficient
- Chiddix Jr High SchoolC · 31% proficient
- Evans Junior High SchoolD+ · 26% proficient
Top high schools
- Tri-valley High SchoolB− · 45% proficient
- Normal Community High SchoolB− · 43% proficient
- Bloomington High SchoolC− · 30% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 61704 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
61704 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 61704 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 61704 suits
Families
Schools land around the 24th percentile and crime safety beats 70%.
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 92% of zip codes, internet is fast and widely advertised, and 23% already work from home.
Common questions about living in 61704
Is 61704 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 61704 ranks 3,501st of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on cell coverage, short commutes, and what local pay buys, 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 61704 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $269,152. The overall cost of living runs about 7% below the national average. Set against a $117,194 median income, cost of living beats 92% of zip codes.
Is 61704 safe?
Yes, 61704 is safer than 70% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $200 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 61704?
July highs average about 85 degrees, and January highs near 35 with lows near 20. That works out to about 83 pleasant days a year, more than 48% of zip codes.
Is 61704 good for families?
Schools beat 24% of zip codes, crime safety beats 70%, and childcare runs $1,405 a month.
Compare 61704 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 61704. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 61704 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.
61704 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 61704: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 61704: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 61704: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 61704: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
61704 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.