Best PlacesAvalon Highlands, Chicago, IL Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Avalon Highlands, Chicago, 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.
Avalon Highlands, Chicago ranks 5,628th of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. Crime pulls hardest against it, while it scores best on walkability.
The best neighborhoods in Avalon Highlands, Chicago
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.
Avalon Highlands, Chicago's strengths and weaknesses
Where Avalon Highlands, Chicago ranks high
- WalkabilityBetter than 89% of neighborhoods
- TransitBetter than 89% of neighborhoods
- Disaster safetyBetter than 87% of neighborhoods
- Big-city accessBetter than 86% of neighborhoods
- State infrastructureBetter than 78% of neighborhoods
Where Avalon Highlands, Chicago ranks low
- Crime safetyBetter than only 2% of neighborhoods
- Short commute40.3 minutes each way, better than only 2% of neighborhoods
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 4% of neighborhoods
- Household income$37,793 median, better than only 5% of neighborhoods
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 6% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in Avalon Highlands, Chicago
A household needs to earn about $57,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Avalon Highlands, Chicago home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $37,793, so buying stretches a typical household.
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 Avalon Highlands, Chicago's effective rate of 1.30%, 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 7 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Avalon Highlands, Chicago
Avalon Highlands, Chicago's age mix sits close to the national median, 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 Avalon Highlands, Chicago.
Who works in Avalon Highlands, Chicago, and how
Work in Avalon Highlands, Chicago centers on health care & social and transportation & warehousing. Unemployment runs well above the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 49%
- Work from home 16%
- Transit, walk, or bike 35%
Life in Avalon Highlands, Chicago
Avalon Highlands, Chicago has more restaurants and bars per resident than 72% of neighborhoods. That concentrates in some parts of Avalon Highlands, Chicago and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Avalon Highlands, Chicago, month by month
Avalon Highlands, Chicago sees roughly 76 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 86 degrees. January highs sit near 34, with lows near 22. The comfortable stretch runs May, June, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 34° | 28° | 22° |
| April | 61° | 50° | 43° |
| July | 86° | 77° | 70° |
| October | 66° | 57° | 49° |
Flying in and out of Avalon Highlands, Chicago
Chicago Midway International sits about 8 miles away. It is a large hub and boarded 9.4 million passengers in 2025, with 113 nonstop destinations.
The best schools in and around Avalon Highlands, Chicago
Schools across Avalon Highlands, Chicago average a C+, better than 49% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Stem Magnet Academy ElemB+ · 53% proficient
- Dixon Elem SchoolD− · 13% proficient
- Tanner Elem SchoolF · 3% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Avalon Highlands, Chicago school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Avalon Highlands, Chicago 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 Avalon Highlands, Chicago against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in Avalon Highlands, Chicago
Is Avalon Highlands, Chicago a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Avalon Highlands, Chicago ranks 5,628th of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on walkability, transit, and low disaster risk, and lowest on crime and long commutes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Avalon Highlands, Chicago expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $203,268. The overall cost of living runs about 12% below the national average. Set against a $37,793 median income, cost of living beats 6% of neighborhoods.
Is Avalon Highlands, Chicago safe?
Avalon Highlands, Chicago is safer than 2% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $981 per resident a year.
Compare Avalon Highlands, Chicago with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Avalon Highlands, Chicago. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Avalon Highlands, Chicago 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.
Avalon Highlands, Chicago detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Avalon Highlands, Chicago: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Avalon Highlands, Chicago: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Avalon Highlands, Chicago: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Avalon Highlands, Chicago: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Avalon Highlands, Chicago 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.