Best Places61759, IL Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 61759, 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.
61759 ranks 14,009th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. State finances pulls hardest against it, while it scores best on quiet.
The best neighborhoods in 61759
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.
61759's strengths and weaknesses
Where 61759 ranks high
- QuietBetter than 87% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than 85% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than 84% of zip codes
- Short commute20.9 minutes each way, better than 81% of zip codes
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 77% of zip codes
Where 61759 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 6% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 60 pleasant days a year, better than only 8% of zip codes
- Internet speedBetter than only 17% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 61759
A household needs to earn about $48,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 61759 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $93,644, 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 61759's effective rate of 1.78%, 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 61759
61759 runs younger than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 61759.
Who works in 61759, and how
Work in 61759 centers on health care & social and agriculture & forestry. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 80%
- Work from home 12%
- Transit, walk, or bike 8%
Life in 61759
61759 has more parkland per resident than 99% of zip codes. That concentrates in some parts of 61759 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 61759, month by month
61759 sees roughly 60 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 87 degrees. January highs sit near 37, with lows near 22. The comfortable stretch runs May, June, and August through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 37° | 29° | 22° |
| April | 65° | 53° | 43° |
| July | 87° | 76° | 67° |
| October | 69° | 57° | 47° |
Flying in and out of 61759
The nearest airport, Central Il Regional/Bloomington- Normal, is about 21 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Chicago Midway International, about 124 miles away.
The best schools in and around 61759
Schools across 61759 average a C−, better than 26% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Olympia West Elem SchC · 33% proficient
Top middle schools
- Olympia Middle SchoolD+ · 26% proficient
Top high schools
- Olympia High SchoolC− · 30% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 61759 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
61759 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 61759 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 61759
Is 61759 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 61759 ranks 14,009th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on quiet, civic engagement, 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 61759 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $161,883. The overall cost of living runs about 9% below the national average. Set against a $93,644 median income, cost of living beats 77% of zip codes.
Is 61759 safe?
61759 is safer than 34% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $294 per resident a year.
Compare 61759 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 61759. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 61759 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.
61759 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 61759: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 61759: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 61759: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 61759: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
61759 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.