Best Places61920, IL Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 61920, 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.
61920 ranks 20,657th of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on short commutes by a wide margin, and state finances rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 61920
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.
61920's strengths and weaknesses
Where 61920 ranks high
- Short commute16.4 minutes each way, better than 95% of zip codes
- WalkabilityBetter than 84% of zip codes
- Educational attainmentBetter than 78% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than 76% of zip codes
- Cell coverageBetter than 75% of zip codes
Where 61920 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
- School gradeD, better than only 10% of zip codes
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 23% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 61920
A household needs to earn about $49,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 61920 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $62,201, 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 61920's effective rate of 1.83%, 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 8 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in 61920
61920 runs younger 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 61920.
Who works in 61920, and how
Work in 61920 centers on health care & social and education. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 81%
- Work from home 11%
- Transit, walk, or bike 8%
Life in 61920
61920 has more parkland per resident than 83% of zip codes. That concentrates in some parts of 61920 and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in 61920, month by month
61920 sees roughly 80 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 86 degrees. January highs sit near 37, with lows near 23. The comfortable stretch runs May, June, and August through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 37° | 29° | 23° |
| April | 65° | 53° | 44° |
| July | 86° | 76° | 67° |
| October | 68° | 57° | 48° |
Flying in and out of 61920
The nearest airport, University of Illinois/Willard, is about 39 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Indianapolis International, about 102 miles away.
The best schools in and around 61920
Schools across 61920 average a D, better than 10% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Carl Sandburg Elem SchoolD+ · 23% proficient
- Lake Crest Elem SchoolD · 18% proficient
- Arcola Elementary SchoolD− · 15% proficient
Top middle schools
- Mattoon Middle SchoolD · 21% proficient
- Jefferson Elem SchoolD− · 17% proficient
- Charleston Middle SchoolD− · 14% proficient
Top high schools
- Charleston High SchoolD · 22% proficient
- Mattoon High SchoolD · 20% proficient
- Oakland High SchoolD− · 16% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 61920 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
61920 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 61920 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Who 61920 suits
Retirees
Set weather, quiet, and health care weights on the map to test the fit.
Common questions about living in 61920
Is 61920 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 61920 ranks 20,657th of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on short commutes, walkability, and an educated workforce, 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 61920 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $162,790. The overall cost of living runs about 20% below the national average. Set against a $62,201 median income, cost of living beats 45% of zip codes.
Is 61920 safe?
61920 is safer than 31% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $314 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in 61920?
July highs average about 86 degrees, and January highs near 37 with lows near 23. That works out to about 80 pleasant days a year, more than 44% of zip codes.
Is 61920 good for families?
Schools beat 10% of zip codes, crime safety beats 31%, and childcare runs $771 a month.
Compare 61920 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 61920. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 61920 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.
61920 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 61920: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 61920: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 61920: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 61920: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
61920 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.