Best PlacesAlgonquin, IL Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Algonquin, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Local pay runs high here, and housing takes the biggest bite out of it. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Algonquin ranks 559th of 2,098 U.S. cities on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on heat safety by a wide margin, and property taxes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Algonquin
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.
Algonquin's strengths and weaknesses
Where Algonquin ranks high
- Heat safetyBetter than 92% of cities
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 91% of cities
- Disaster safetyBetter than 91% of cities
- Cell coverageBetter than 90% of cities
- Household income$137,396 median, better than 86% of cities
Where Algonquin ranks low
- Low property taxBetter than only 4% of cities
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 5% of cities
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 6% of cities
- Short commute31.3 minutes each way, better than only 18% of cities
- Local economyBetter than only 20% of cities
What it costs to buy a home in Algonquin
A household needs to earn about $110,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Algonquin home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $137,396, 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 Algonquin's effective rate of 2.25%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices and rents, renting stays cheaper than buying across the first 10 years here, so the case for buying rests on staying much longer or on prices rising faster than assumed. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Algonquin
Algonquin's age mix sits close to the national median.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Algonquin.
Who works in Algonquin, and how
Work in Algonquin centers on manufacturing and retail trade. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 74%
- Work from home 23%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in Algonquin
Algonquin has more restaurants and bars per resident than 83% of cities and more parkland per resident than 95% of cities. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Algonquin and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Algonquin, month by month
Algonquin sees roughly 101 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 85 degrees. January highs sit near 32, with lows near 18. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 32° | 25° | 18° |
| April | 61° | 49° | 39° |
| July | 85° | 75° | 65° |
| October | 64° | 54° | 45° |
Flying in and out of Algonquin
Chicago O'Hare International sits about 24 miles away. It is a large hub and boarded 40.8 million passengers in 2025, with 305 nonstop destinations.
The best schools in and around Algonquin
Schools across Algonquin average a C−, better than 22% of cities.
Top elementary schools
- Conley Elementary SchoolB− · 42% proficient
- Eastview Elem SchoolB− · 40% proficient
- Kenneth E Neubert Elem SchoolC+ · 38% proficient
Top middle schools
- Lundahl Middle SchoolC · 31% proficient
- Dundee Middle SchoolC · 31% proficient
- Cary Jr High SchoolC− · 30% proficient
Top high schools
- Huntley High SchoolB · 48% proficient
- Cary-grove Community High SchoolB− · 44% proficient
- Harry D Jacobs High SchoolC+ · 36% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Algonquin school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Algonquin 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 Algonquin against the other 2,097 cities.
Who Algonquin suits
Families
Schools land around the 22nd percentile and crime safety beats 67%.
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 91% of cities and 23% already work from home.
Retirees
The weather beats 61% of cities, health care access beats 68%, and it is quieter than 79%.
Common questions about living in Algonquin
Is Algonquin a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Algonquin ranks 559th of 2,098 cities. It scores highest on heat safety, what local pay buys, and low disaster risk, and lowest on property taxes and taxes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Algonquin expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $352,526. The overall cost of living runs about 3% below the national average. Set against a $137,396 median income, cost of living beats 91% of cities.
Is Algonquin safe?
Yes, Algonquin is safer than 67% of cities. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $205 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Algonquin?
July highs average about 85 degrees, and January highs near 32 with lows near 18. That works out to about 101 pleasant days a year, more than 61% of cities.
Is Algonquin good for families?
Schools beat 22% of cities, crime safety beats 67%, and childcare runs $1,373 a month.
Compare Algonquin with other cities
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Algonquin. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Algonquin 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.
Algonquin detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Algonquin: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Algonquin: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Algonquin: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Algonquin: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Algonquin 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.