Best Places61936, IL Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood inside ZIP code 61936, 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.
61936 ranks 28,952nd of 33,110 U.S. zip codes on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on civic engagement by a wide margin, and a weak job market ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in 61936
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.
61936's strengths and weaknesses
Where 61936 ranks high
- Voter turnoutBetter than 99% of zip codes
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 98% of zip codes
- Educational attainmentBetter than 87% of zip codes
- Low vacancyBetter than 84% of zip codes
- State infrastructureBetter than 76% of zip codes
Where 61936 ranks low
- Local economyBetter than only 1% of zip codes
- QuietBetter than only 2% 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 9% of zip codes
What it costs to buy a home in 61936
A household needs to earn about $33,000 a year to comfortably buy the median 61936 home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $69,545, 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 61936's effective rate of 1.64%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Who lives in 61936
61936 runs younger than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for 61936.
Who works in 61936, and how
Work in 61936 centers on construction and education. Unemployment runs well above the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 92%
- Work from home 6%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in 61936
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across 61936.
What the weather is like in 61936, month by month
61936 sees roughly 73 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° | 77° | 67° |
| October | 69° | 57° | 47° |
Flying in and out of 61936
The nearest airport, Decatur, is about 8 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is St Louis Lambert International, about 114 miles away.
The best schools in and around 61936
Schools across 61936 average a C, better than 29% of zip codes.
Top elementary schools
- Cerro Gordo Elem SchoolC · 33% proficient
Top high schools
- Cerro Gordo Jr And Sr High SchC+ · 35% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every 61936 school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
61936 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 61936 against the other 33,109 zip codes.
Common questions about living in 61936
Is 61936 a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, 61936 ranks 28,952nd of 33,110 zip codes. It scores highest on civic engagement, a stable housing market, and an educated workforce, and lowest on a weak job market and noise. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is 61936 expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $114,700. The overall cost of living runs about 14% below the national average. Set against a $69,545 median income, cost of living beats 46% of zip codes.
Is 61936 safe?
61936 is safer than 33% of zip codes. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $295 per resident a year.
Compare 61936 with other zip codes
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to 61936. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in 61936 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.
61936 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for 61936: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in 61936: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of 61936: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in 61936: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
61936 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.