Best PlacesCentral Park, Chicago, IL Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Central Park, 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.
Central Park, Chicago ranks 5,648th of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on biking by a wide margin, and crime is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Central 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.
Central Park, Chicago's strengths and weaknesses
Where Central Park, Chicago ranks high
- BikingBetter than 96% of neighborhoods
- Big-city accessBetter than 92% of neighborhoods
- WalkabilityBetter than 92% of neighborhoods
- TransitBetter than 90% of neighborhoods
- Disaster safetyBetter than 88% of neighborhoods
Where Central Park, Chicago ranks low
- Crime safetyBetter than only 3% of neighborhoods
- Short commute37.5 minutes each way, better than only 4% of neighborhoods
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 4% of neighborhoods
- Household income$39,254 median, better than only 5% of neighborhoods
- Health outlookBetter than only 5% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in Central Park, Chicago
A household needs to earn about $62,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Central Park, Chicago home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $39,254, 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 Central Park, Chicago's effective rate of 1.11%, 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 Central Park, Chicago
Central Park, Chicago runs younger than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Central Park, Chicago.
Who works in Central Park, Chicago, and how
Work in Central Park, Chicago centers on health care & social and transportation & warehousing. Unemployment runs well above the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 53%
- Work from home 10%
- Transit, walk, or bike 37%
Life in Central Park, Chicago
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Central Park, Chicago.
What the weather is like in Central Park, Chicago, month by month
Central 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 Central Park, Chicago
Chicago Midway International sits about 7 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 Central Park, Chicago
Schools across Central Park, Chicago average a C+, better than 49% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Stem Magnet Academy ElemB+ · 53% proficient
- Tilton Elem SchoolF · 5% proficient
Top high schools
- Legal Prep Academy Charter HsF · 5% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Central Park, Chicago school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Central 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 Central Park, Chicago against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in Central Park, Chicago
Is Central Park, Chicago a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Central Park, Chicago ranks 5,648th of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on biking, big-city access, and walkability, 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 Central Park, Chicago expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $225,951. The overall cost of living runs about 8% below the national average. Set against a $39,254 median income, cost of living beats 6% of neighborhoods.
Is Central Park, Chicago safe?
Central Park, Chicago is safer than 3% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $884 per resident a year.
Compare Central Park, Chicago with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Central Park, Chicago. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Central 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.
Central Park, Chicago detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Central Park, Chicago: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Central Park, Chicago: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Central Park, Chicago: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Central Park, Chicago: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Central 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.