Best PlacesChicago Ridge, IL Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Chicago Ridge, 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 Ridge ranks 29,899th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on walkability by a wide margin, and noise is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Chicago Ridge
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 Ridge's strengths and weaknesses
Where Chicago Ridge ranks high
- WalkabilityBetter than 99% of towns
- Cell coverageBetter than 98% of towns
- Big-city accessBetter than 98% of towns
- BikingBetter than 98% of towns
- TransitBetter than 97% of towns
Where Chicago Ridge ranks low
- QuietBetter than only 1% of towns
- School gradeD−, better than only 2% of towns
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 3% of towns
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 4% of towns
- Low property taxBetter than only 6% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Chicago Ridge
A household needs to earn about $64,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Chicago Ridge home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $82,166, 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 Ridge's effective rate of 1.76%, 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 Chicago Ridge
Chicago Ridge's age mix sits close to the national median.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Chicago Ridge.
Who works in Chicago Ridge, and how
Work in Chicago Ridge centers on transportation & warehousing and retail trade. Unemployment is low, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 82%
- Work from home 12%
- Transit, walk, or bike 6%
Life in Chicago Ridge
Chicago Ridge has more restaurants and bars per resident than 82% of towns and more parkland per resident than 98% of towns. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Chicago Ridge and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Chicago Ridge, month by month
Chicago Ridge 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 Chicago Ridge
Chicago Midway International sits about 6 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 Ridge
Schools across Chicago Ridge average a D−, better than 2% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Columbus Manor Elem SchoolD+ · 25% proficient
- Worthwoods Elem SchoolD · 20% proficient
- Worth Elem SchoolD · 20% proficient
Top middle schools
- Prairie Jr High SchoolD+ · 25% proficient
- Worth Jr High SchoolD · 20% proficient
- Simmons Middle SchoolD− · 18% proficient
Top high schools
- Oak Lawn Comm High SchoolD · 22% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Chicago Ridge school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Chicago Ridge 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 Ridge against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Chicago Ridge
Is Chicago Ridge a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Chicago Ridge ranks 29,899th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on walkability, cell coverage, and big-city access, and lowest on noise 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 Ridge expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $216,795. The overall cost of living runs about 8% below the national average. Set against a $82,166 median income, cost of living beats 59% of towns.
Is Chicago Ridge safe?
Chicago Ridge is safer than 21% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $339 per resident a year.
Compare Chicago Ridge with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Chicago Ridge. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Chicago Ridge 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 Ridge detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Chicago Ridge: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Chicago Ridge: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Chicago Ridge: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Chicago Ridge: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Chicago Ridge 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.