These Are The 10 Best Neighborhoods In Chicago


We used science and data to determine which neighborhoods in Chicago are the best of the best.

Brandon Mariotti, About HomeSnacks
July 31, 2016 - 80 views
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This article is an opinion based on facts and is meant as infotainment. Don’t freak out.

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Do you like your neighborhood? Is it friendly, and where everyone knows their neighbors? No matter if you live in the sticks or in an apartment building in downtown Chicago, you have a little pocket that you can call home. And each neighborhood is different.

Smaller neighborhoods usually have obvious benefits — less crime, a slower pace of life, and a lower cost of living. But not all Chicago neighborhoods are created equal. Some are better than others. But which ones?

Instead of relying on public opinion and speculation, we wanted to get the facts straight and find out which neighborhoods in Chicago are the best. If you’re in one of the places we’re about to highlight, odds are you know you’ve got it made.

Here are the best neighborhoods in Chicago:

  1. Lincoln Park
  2. Lake View
  3. Near North Side
  4. North Center
  5. West Town
  6. Loop
  7. Logan Square
  8. Edison Park
  9. Lincoln Square
  10. Near South Side

Read on to see how we determined the places around Chicago that deserve a little bragging rights. Would you rahter live outside of the city? Check out the best suburbs around Chicago.

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How do you determine the best neighborhoods in Chicago?

In order to rank the best neighborhoods in Chicago, we had to determine what criteria defines a “best”.

Using crime, census, and extrapolated BLS data, we arrived at the following set of criteria:

  • High incomes
  • Low unemployment rates
  • Low crime
  • High home prices
  • High population densities (A proxy for things to do)
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We limited the analysis to neighborhoods with over 1,000 people.

We then ranked each neighborhood with scores from 1 to 77 in each category, where 1 was the best.

Next, we averaged the rankings for each neighborhood to create a best neighborhood index.

And finally, we crowned the neighborhood with the lowest best neighborhood index the “Best City Neighborhood In Chicago.” We’re lookin’ at you, Lincoln Park.

Read on below to learn more about what it’s like to live in the best places Chicago has to offer. Or skip to the end to see the list of all the neighborhoods in the city from best to worst.

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1. Lincoln Park

Source: Wikipedia

Population: 62,422
Median Home Price: $530,533
Crimes Per 100K People: 1,604
Unemployment Rate: 3.9%

2. Lake View

Source: Wikipedia

Population: 94,535
Median Home Price: $421,824
Crimes Per 100K People: 1,604
Unemployment Rate: 3.9%

3. Near North Side

Source: Wikipedia

Population: 77,383
Median Home Price: $504,278
Crimes Per 100K People: 1,604
Unemployment Rate: 5.1%

4. North Center

Source: Wikipedia

Population: 33,407
Median Home Price: $524,079
Crimes Per 100K People: 1,604
Unemployment Rate: 4.2%

5. West Town

Source: Wikipedia

Population: 84,682
Median Home Price: $416,521
Crimes Per 100K People: 1,604
Unemployment Rate: 5.2%

6. Loop

Source: Wikipedia

Population: 24,518
Median Home Price: $390,964
Crimes Per 100K People: 1,604
Unemployment Rate: 4.1%

7. Logan Square

Source: Wikipedia

Population: 72,628
Median Home Price: $379,967
Crimes Per 100K People: 1,790
Unemployment Rate: 6.1%

8. Edison Park

Source: Wikipedia

Population: 11,005
Median Home Price: $364,010
Crimes Per 100K People: 1,604
Unemployment Rate: 4.7%

9. Lincoln Square

Source: Wikipedia

Population: 38,474
Median Home Price: $373,278
Crimes Per 100K People: 1,604
Unemployment Rate: 6.4%

10. Near South Side

Source: Wikipedia

Population: 19,163
Median Home Price: $349,250
Crimes Per 100K People: 1,604
Unemployment Rate: 3.9%

Putting A Bow On Our Analysis Of Chicago

If you’re measuring the neighborhoods in Chicago where crime is low and everyone wants to live, this is an accurate list.

If you’re curious, here are the worst places in Chicago:

  1. Riverdale
  2. Fuller Park
  3. Englewood

For more reading, check out:

Detailed List Of The Best Neighborhoods In Chicago

Neighborhood Rank Population Home Prices Crimes Per 100k Unemployment Rate
Lincoln Park 1 62,422 $530,533 1,604 3.9%
Lake View 2 94,535 $421,824 1,604 3.9%
Near North Side 3 77,383 $504,278 1,604 5.1%
North Center 4 33,407 $524,079 1,604 4.2%
West Town 5 84,682 $416,521 1,604 5.2%
Loop 6 24,518 $390,964 1,604 4.1%
Logan Square 7 72,628 $379,967 1,790 6.1%
Edison Park 8 11,005 $364,010 1,604 4.7%
Lincoln Square 9 38,474 $373,278 1,604 6.4%
Near South Side 10 19,163 $349,250 1,604 3.9%
Forest Glen 11 18,189 $437,641 1,604 4.6%
Hyde Park 12 23,728 $300,405 2,063 5.3%
Irving Park 13 56,141 $315,624 2,698 7.2%
Edgewater 14 48,958 $281,236 2,636 6.4%
Uptown 15 54,032 $286,718 2,440 6.4%
West Ridge 16 73,485 $270,220 3,510 5.4%
Avondale 17 41,216 $299,438 3,437 6.6%
Norwood Park 18 38,536 $317,744 2,290 5.8%
Albany Park 19 53,529 $280,800 3,515 7.3%
Beverly 20 21,210 $304,255 2,089 5.8%
Jefferson Park 21 26,608 $296,300 2,957 8.5%
Pottage Park 22 63,401 $281,700 3,318 9.1%
Near West Side 23 53,627 $326,791 1,894 7.7%
North Park 24 18,511 $329,977 2,628 6.1%
Rogers Park 25 55,408 $244,231 3,677 6.1%
Dunning 26 41,931 $261,025 3,412 6.9%
Mount Greenwood 27 18,440 $246,906 2,892 6.2%
Kenwood 28 14,815 $303,281 2,190 9.2%
Bridgeport 29 32,207 $290,648 3,286 9.5%
Hermosa 30 24,814 $275,353 4,043 9.1%
Garfield Ridge 31 33,754 $231,106 3,681 7.4%
Clearing 32 22,512 $210,275 4,090 6.7%
Belmont Cragin 33 77,568 $241,298 4,367 9.9%
West Lawn 34 32,665 $187,325 4,788 6.1%
Douglas 35 18,226 $290,092 3,423 10.7%
Montclare 36 12,307 $225,592 4,028 9.2%
Ashburn 37 42,620 $182,696 4,390 7.6%
Morgan Park 38 23,477 $196,143 3,972 9.4%
O’Hare 39 13,331 $200,614 4,130 5.0%
West Elsdon 40 18,819 $196,720 4,814 11.2%
Brighton Park 41 44,130 $198,020 4,996 9.1%
Mckinley Park 42 16,522 $233,358 4,307 9.5%
Lower West Side 43 36,567 $253,600 4,112 11.3%
Grand Boulevard 44 23,120 $261,325 3,636 15.8%
Hegewisch 45 10,058 $158,475 4,578 5.5%
Armour Square 46 13,464 $257,157 4,207 10.1%
Calumet Heights 47 14,299 $183,512 4,037 11.0%
Humboldt Park 48 53,918 $212,986 4,809 9.5%
South Shore 49 46,957 $210,039 4,331 12.3%
South Lawndale 50 70,139 $193,481 5,190 8.7%
Austin 51 97,571 $211,390 4,645 13.0%
Archer Heights 52 13,415 $219,280 4,574 11.1%
Gage Park 53 39,250 $179,943 5,258 12.1%
North Lawndale 54 36,036 $220,906 4,809 9.5%
East Garfield Park 55 21,187 $214,700 4,825 9.5%
Chicago Lawn 56 54,433 $146,049 5,511 10.1%
East Side 57 23,110 $143,781 5,273 7.4%
Oakland 58 5,339 $246,380 3,994 18.7%
West Garfield Park 59 19,161 $207,753 5,057 12.7%
Avalon Park 60 9,470 $162,270 4,520 12.9%
Washington Heights 61 25,821 $149,832 5,012 11.6%
Roseland 62 45,255 $132,428 5,334 10.1%
Woodlawn 63 20,817 $190,548 4,828 14.4%
Chatham 64 32,973 $148,303 5,056 13.9%
Auburn Gresham 65 49,442 $150,849 5,287 15.9%
South Chicago 66 28,977 $143,555 5,230 10.7%
West Pullman 67 30,669 $125,050 5,552 10.4%
New City 68 42,082 $164,708 5,395 14.5%
Grand Crossing 69 32,602 $141,741 5,255 13.4%
South Deering 70 16,406 $121,191 5,648 8.9%
Pullman 71 7,208 $132,525 5,061 14.7%
Washington Park 72 11,113 $182,940 4,962 17.8%
West Englewood 73 35,143 $116,527 5,943 18.9%
Burnside 74 3,479 $132,550 5,739 10.3%
Englewood 75 28,641 $129,481 5,810 13.3%
Fuller Park 76 2,881 $114,525 6,052 16.3%
Riverdale 77 6,795 $90,700 6,417 18.7%

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