Best PlacesChicago Heights, IL Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Chicago Heights, 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.
Chicago Heights ranks 2,064th of 2,098 U.S. cities on the BestNeighborhood index. A weak job market pulls hardest against it, while it scores best on low disaster risk.
The best neighborhoods in Chicago Heights
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.
Chicago Heights' strengths and weaknesses
Where Chicago Heights ranks high
- Disaster safetyBetter than 84% of cities
- Cell coverageBetter than 83% of cities
- WalkabilityBetter than 82% of cities
- TransitBetter than 81% of cities
- State infrastructureBetter than 78% of cities
Where Chicago Heights ranks low
- Local economyBetter than only 1% of cities
- School gradeD−, better than only 1% of cities
- Low property taxBetter than only 1% of cities
- Crime safetyBetter than only 2% of cities
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 5% of cities
What it costs to buy a home in Chicago Heights
A household needs to earn about $50,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Chicago Heights home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $61,354, 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 Chicago Heights' effective rate of 2.42%, 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 5 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Chicago Heights
Chicago Heights 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 Chicago Heights.
Who works in Chicago Heights, and how
Work in Chicago Heights centers on manufacturing and health care & social. Unemployment runs well above the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 83%
- Work from home 8%
- Transit, walk, or bike 9%
Life in Chicago Heights
Chicago Heights has more restaurants and bars per resident than 70% of cities and more parkland per resident than 78% of cities. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Chicago Heights and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Chicago Heights, month by month
Chicago Heights sees roughly 74 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 84 degrees. January highs sit near 33, with lows near 20. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 33° | 26° | 20° |
| April | 60° | 48° | 39° |
| July | 84° | 74° | 65° |
| October | 65° | 54° | 45° |
Flying in and out of Chicago Heights
Chicago Midway International sits about 20 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 Chicago Heights
Schools across Chicago Heights average a D−, better than 1% of cities.
Top elementary schools
- Western Avenue Elem SchoolC · 33% proficient
- Sandridge Elem SchoolD+ · 25% proficient
- Serena Hills Elem SchoolD+ · 23% proficient
Top middle schools
- Parker Junior High SchoolD− · 19% proficient
- Heritage Middle SchoolD− · 18% proficient
- Chicago Heights Middle SchoolD− · 17% proficient
Top high schools
- Homewood-flossmoor High SchoolD+ · 24% proficient
- Thornton Fractnl So High SchoolD− · 13% proficient
- Bloom Trail High SchoolF · 10% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Chicago Heights school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Chicago Heights 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 Chicago Heights against the other 2,097 cities.
Who Chicago Heights suits
Retirees
Set weather, quiet, and health care weights on the map to test the fit.
Common questions about living in Chicago Heights
Is Chicago Heights a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Chicago Heights ranks 2,064th of 2,098 cities. It scores highest on low disaster risk, cell coverage, and walkability, and lowest on a weak job market and the schools. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Chicago Heights expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $158,016. The overall cost of living runs about 9% below the national average. Set against a $61,354 median income, cost of living beats 8% of cities.
Is Chicago Heights safe?
Chicago Heights is safer than 2% of cities. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $530 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Chicago Heights?
July highs average about 84 degrees, and January highs near 33 with lows near 20. That works out to about 74 pleasant days a year, more than 35% of cities.
Is Chicago Heights good for families?
Schools beat 1% of cities, crime safety beats 2%, and childcare runs $1,105 a month.
Compare Chicago Heights with other cities
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Chicago Heights. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Chicago Heights 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.
Chicago Heights detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Chicago Heights: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Chicago Heights: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Chicago Heights: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Chicago Heights: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Chicago Heights 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.