Best PlacesBrighton Park, Chicago, IL Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Brighton Park, Chicago, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. This page is for people who live here or already know they want to. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Brighton Park, Chicago ranks 4,002nd of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on big-city access by a wide margin, and civic engagement ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Brighton Park, 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.
Brighton Park, Chicago's strengths and weaknesses
Where Brighton Park, Chicago ranks high
- Big-city accessBetter than 91% of neighborhoods
- TransitBetter than 90% of neighborhoods
- WalkabilityBetter than 90% of neighborhoods
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 89% of neighborhoods
- Disaster safetyBetter than 87% of neighborhoods
Where Brighton Park, Chicago ranks low
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 4% of neighborhoods
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 4% of neighborhoods
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 5% of neighborhoods
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 6% of neighborhoods
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 10% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in Brighton Park, Chicago
A household needs to earn about $71,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Brighton Park, Chicago home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $70,992; the gap is small, which keeps homes within reach of local pay.
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 Brighton Park, Chicago's effective rate of 1.27%, 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 9 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Brighton Park, Chicago
Brighton Park, 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 Brighton Park, Chicago.
Who works in Brighton Park, Chicago, and how
Work in Brighton Park, Chicago centers on manufacturing and hospitality & food. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 70%
- Work from home 10%
- Transit, walk, or bike 20%
Life in Brighton Park, Chicago
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Brighton Park, Chicago.
What the weather is like in Brighton Park, Chicago, month by month
Brighton Park, 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 Brighton Park, 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 Brighton Park, Chicago
Schools across Brighton Park, Chicago average a C, better than 31% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Stem Magnet Academy ElemB+ · 53% proficient
- Burroughs Elem SchoolD+ · 23% proficient
- Columbia Explorers Elem AcademyD+ · 22% proficient
Top middle schools
- Shields Middle SchoolF · 6% proficient
Top high schools
- Noble St Chtr - MansuetoD− · 13% proficient
- Thomas Kelly College PreparatoryF · 10% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Brighton Park, Chicago school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Brighton Park, 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 Brighton Park, Chicago against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Who Brighton Park, Chicago suits
Retirees
Set weather, quiet, and health care weights on the map to test the fit.
Common questions about living in Brighton Park, Chicago
Is Brighton Park, Chicago a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Brighton Park, Chicago ranks 4,002nd of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on big-city access, transit, and walkability, and lowest on civic engagement and state finances. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Brighton Park, Chicago expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $254,990. The overall cost of living runs about 3% below the national average. Set against a $70,992 median income, cost of living beats 36% of neighborhoods.
Is Brighton Park, Chicago safe?
Brighton Park, Chicago is safer than 32% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $467 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Brighton Park, 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 Brighton Park, Chicago good for families?
Schools beat 31% of neighborhoods, crime safety beats 32%, and childcare runs $1,105 a month.
Compare Brighton Park, Chicago with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Brighton Park, Chicago. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Brighton Park, 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.
Brighton Park, Chicago detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Brighton Park, Chicago: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Brighton Park, Chicago: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Brighton Park, Chicago: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Brighton Park, Chicago: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Brighton Park, 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.