Best PlacesDeKalb County, IL Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in DeKalb County, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. The averages are not the whole story, and the strongest areas score well above them. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
DeKalb County ranks 1,225th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It ranks low mainly on property taxes and state finances. It does better on big-city access, which keeps it off the bottom.
The best neighborhoods in DeKalb County
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.
The best areas in DeKalb County
The parts of DeKalb County, ranked by the BestNeighborhood standard score across every neighborhood, highest scoring first. Each note says how that part differs from the rest of the county.
Sycamore
Local pay stretches further, incomes run higher, and more households have young kids.
Genoa
More residents vote, though transit reaches fewer jobs.
Sandwich & Hinckley
Crime runs lower, though biking is worse.
Kirkland
It is quieter, though advertised internet is slower.
Cortland
Commutes are shorter and fewer homes sit empty.
DeKalb
Health care is harder to reach and prices have run up more.
Scores across DeKalb County run from about the 6th to the 89th percentile nationally. The map is where that becomes a choice of area.
DeKalb County's strengths and weaknesses
DeKalb County lands in the middle because its strengths and weaknesses roughly balance. Big-city access, transit, and heat safety carry most of that.
The one real hole is property taxes, near the bottom of the country. State finances and taxes also cost it ground. Cost swings more from one part of DeKalb County to another than it does between DeKalb County and its neighbors, which the map below shows.
Where DeKalb County ranks high
- Big-city accessBetter than 96% of counties
- TransitBetter than 95% of counties
- Heat safetyBetter than 94% of counties
- Internet speedBetter than 92% of counties
- Low vacancyBetter than 92% of counties
Where DeKalb County ranks low
- Low property taxBetter than only 1% of counties
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 2% of counties
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 3% of counties
- School gradeD+, better than only 8% of counties
- Cheap childcare$1,235 a month, better than only 8% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in DeKalb County
A household needs to earn about $78,000 a year to comfortably buy the median DeKalb County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $79,948, 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 DeKalb County's effective rate of 2.24%, 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 10 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in DeKalb County
DeKalb County runs younger than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for DeKalb County.
Who works in DeKalb County, and how
Work in DeKalb County centers on health care & social and education. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 82%
- Work from home 10%
- Transit, walk, or bike 8%
Life in DeKalb County
DeKalb County has more parkland per resident than 90% of counties. That concentrates in some parts of DeKalb County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is DeKalb County growing, and who is moving in?
DeKalb County has lost about 3% of its population over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from the rest of the Chicago, IL metro.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving DeKalb County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in DeKalb County, month by month
DeKalb County sees roughly 79 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 83 degrees. January highs sit near 30, with lows near 17. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 30° | 23° | 17° |
| April | 59° | 47° | 38° |
| July | 83° | 73° | 64° |
| October | 63° | 52° | 43° |
Flying in and out of DeKalb County
The nearest airport, Chicago/Rockford International, is about 26 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Chicago O'Hare International, about 42 miles away.
The best schools in and around DeKalb County
Schools across DeKalb County average a D+, better than 8% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Indian Creek Elementary SchoolB− · 43% proficient
- Prairie View Elem SchoolB− · 40% proficient
- W W Woodbury Elem SchoolB− · 40% proficient
Top middle schools
- Somonauk Middle SchoolA− · 53% proficient
- Prairie Knolls Middle SchB− · 43% proficient
- Genoa-kingston Middle SchoolC · 32% proficient
Top high schools
- Central High SchoolB− · 45% proficient
- Kaneland Senior High SchoolC+ · 39% proficient
- Hinckley-big Rock High SchoolC+ · 35% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every DeKalb County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
DeKalb County 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 DeKalb County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who DeKalb County suits
Families
Schools land around the 8th percentile and crime safety beats 75%.
Remote workers
Internet is fast and widely advertised and 10% already work from home.
Retirees
Set weather, quiet, and health care weights on the map to test the fit.
Common questions about living in DeKalb County
Is DeKalb County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, DeKalb County ranks 1,225th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on big-city access, transit, and heat safety, and lowest on property taxes and state finances. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is DeKalb County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $248,550. The overall cost of living runs about 7% below the national average. Set against a $79,948 median income, cost of living beats 63% of counties.
Is DeKalb County safe?
Yes, DeKalb County is safer than 75% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $226 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in DeKalb County?
July highs average about 83 degrees, and January highs near 30 with lows near 17. That works out to about 79 pleasant days a year, more than 37% of counties.
What are the best neighborhoods in DeKalb County?
Using the default rankings, the highest-scoring areas are Sycamore, Genoa, and Sandwich & Hinckley. The ranked list and the re-weightable map above let you re-sort them for your own priorities.
Is DeKalb County good for families?
Schools beat 8% of counties, crime safety beats 75%, and childcare runs $1,235 a month.
Is DeKalb County good for remote workers?
Cost of living against local pay beats 63% of counties, and the fastest advertised internet here beats 92% of counties. About 10% of workers already work from home.
Compare DeKalb County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to DeKalb County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in DeKalb County 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.
DeKalb County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for DeKalb County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in DeKalb County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of DeKalb County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in DeKalb County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
DeKalb County 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.
- U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program: population growth and net migration behind the population-change section.
- 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.