Best Places61769, IL Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 61769, 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.
61769 ranks 19,744th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. State finances pulls hardest against it, while it scores best on low disaster risk.
The best neighborhoods in 61769
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.
61769's strengths and weaknesses
Where 61769 ranks high
- Disaster safetyBetter than 83% of zip codes
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 79% of zip codes
- Big-city accessBetter than 77% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than 76% of zip codes
- Low vacancyBetter than 74% of zip codes
Where 61769 ranks low
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 4% of zip codes
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 5% of zip codes
- Nice weatherabout 58 pleasant days a year, better than only 6% of zip codes
- School gradeD, better than only 10% of zip codes
- Low property taxBetter than only 13% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 61769
A household needs to earn about $41,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 61769 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $79,851, 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 61769's effective rate of 1.48%, 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 3 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 61769
61769 runs younger than the country, though it still carries a larger-than-average share of residents over 65.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 61769.
Who works in 61769, and how
Work in 61769 centers on manufacturing and agriculture & forestry. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 96%
- Work from home 3%
- Transit, walk, or bike 1%
Life in 61769
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 61769.
What the weather is like in 61769, month by month
61769 sees roughly 58 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 85 degrees. January highs sit near 34, with lows near 20. The comfortable stretch runs May through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 34° | 26° | 20° |
| April | 63° | 51° | 41° |
| July | 85° | 74° | 65° |
| October | 67° | 55° | 45° |
Flying in and out of 61769
The nearest airport, Central Il Regional/Bloomington- Normal, is about 39 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Chicago Midway International, about 71 miles away.
The best schools in and around 61769
Schools across 61769 average a D, better than 10% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Saunemin Elem SchoolD · 20% proficient
- Tri Point Elementary SchoolD− · 16% proficient
Top middle schools
- Tri-point Jr High/elementaryD · 23% proficient
Top high schools
- Pontiac High SchoolD+ · 25% proficient
- Tri-point High SchoolF · 11% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 61769 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
61769 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 61769 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 61769
Is 61769 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 61769 ranks 19,744th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on low disaster risk, cheap car insurance, and big-city access, 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 61769 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $143,859. The overall cost of living runs about 13% below the national average. Set against a $79,851 median income, cost of living beats 65% of zip codes.
Is 61769 safe?
61769 is safer than 43% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $257 per resident a year.
Compare 61769 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 61769. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 61769 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.
61769 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 61769: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 61769: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 61769: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 61769: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
61769 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.