Best PlacesBack of the Yards, Chicago, IL Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Back of the Yards, 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.
Back of the Yards, Chicago ranks 4,942nd of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on walkability by a wide margin, and thin health care access ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Back of the Yards, 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.
Back of the Yards, Chicago's strengths and weaknesses
Where Back of the Yards, Chicago ranks high
- WalkabilityBetter than 94% of neighborhoods
- Big-city accessBetter than 90% of neighborhoods
- TransitBetter than 89% of neighborhoods
- Disaster safetyBetter than 86% of neighborhoods
- BikingBetter than 86% of neighborhoods
Where Back of the Yards, Chicago ranks low
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 2% of neighborhoods
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 2% of neighborhoods
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 4% of neighborhoods
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 5% of neighborhoods
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 10% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in Back of the Yards, Chicago
A household needs to earn about $49,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Back of the Yards, Chicago home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $53,960, 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 Back of the Yards, Chicago's effective rate of 1.18%, 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 6 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Back of the Yards, Chicago
Back of the Yards, Chicago runs younger than the country, and households here run larger than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Back of the Yards, Chicago.
Who works in Back of the Yards, Chicago, and how
Work in Back of the Yards, Chicago centers on manufacturing and hospitality & food. Unemployment runs well above the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 67%
- Work from home 11%
- Transit, walk, or bike 22%
Life in Back of the Yards, Chicago
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Back of the Yards, Chicago.
What the weather is like in Back of the Yards, Chicago, month by month
Back of the Yards, 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 Back of the Yards, Chicago
Chicago Midway International sits about 4 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 Back of the Yards, Chicago
Schools across Back of the Yards, Chicago average a C+, better than 48% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Stem Magnet Academy ElemB+ · 53% proficient
- Cics - Basil CampusD− · 13% proficient
- Chavez Elem Multicultural Acad CtF · 10% proficient
Top middle schools
- Evergreen Academy Elem SchoolD− · 15% proficient
- Shields Middle SchoolF · 6% proficient
Top high schools
- Back Of The Yards Ib HsD · 19% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Back of the Yards, Chicago school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Back of the Yards, 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 Back of the Yards, Chicago against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Who Back of the Yards, Chicago suits
Common questions about living in Back of the Yards, Chicago
Is Back of the Yards, Chicago a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Back of the Yards, Chicago ranks 4,942nd of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on walkability, big-city access, and transit, and lowest on thin health care access and education levels. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Back of the Yards, Chicago expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $179,929. The overall cost of living runs about 5% below the national average. Set against a $53,960 median income, cost of living beats 16% of neighborhoods.
Is Back of the Yards, Chicago safe?
Back of the Yards, Chicago is safer than 14% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $602 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Back of the Yards, Chicago?
July highs average about 86 degrees, and January highs near 34 with lows near 22. That works out to about 76 pleasant days a year, more than 34% of neighborhoods.
Is Back of the Yards, Chicago good for families?
Schools beat 48% of neighborhoods, crime safety beats 14%, and childcare runs $1,105 a month.
Compare Back of the Yards, Chicago with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Back of the Yards, Chicago. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Back of the Yards, 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.
Back of the Yards, Chicago detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Back of the Yards, Chicago: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Back of the Yards, Chicago: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Back of the Yards, Chicago: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Back of the Yards, Chicago: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Back of the Yards, 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.