Best PlacesDouglas, Chicago, IL Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Douglas, 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.
Douglas, Chicago ranks 5,067th of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on transit by a wide margin, and a weak job market ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Douglas, 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.
Douglas, Chicago's strengths and weaknesses
Where Douglas, Chicago ranks high
- TransitBetter than 91% of neighborhoods
- Disaster safetyBetter than 89% of neighborhoods
- Big-city accessBetter than 89% of neighborhoods
- BikingBetter than 85% of neighborhoods
- State infrastructureBetter than 78% of neighborhoods
Where Douglas, Chicago ranks low
- Local economyBetter than only 2% of neighborhoods
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 4% of neighborhoods
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 6% of neighborhoods
- Short commute33.2 minutes each way, better than only 10% of neighborhoods
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 10% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in Douglas, Chicago
A household needs to earn about $68,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Douglas, Chicago home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $44,838, 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 Douglas, Chicago's effective rate of 1.39%, 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 Douglas, Chicago
Douglas, Chicago runs younger than the country, and households here run smaller than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Douglas, Chicago.
Who works in Douglas, Chicago, and how
Work in Douglas, Chicago centers on health care & social and education. Unemployment runs well above the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 46%
- Work from home 23%
- Transit, walk, or bike 31%
Life in Douglas, Chicago
Douglas, Chicago has more parkland per resident than 75% of neighborhoods. That concentrates in some parts of Douglas, Chicago and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Douglas, Chicago, month by month
Douglas, 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 Douglas, Chicago
Chicago Midway International sits about 8 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 Douglas, Chicago
Schools across Douglas, Chicago average a C+, better than 49% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Stem Magnet Academy ElemB+ · 53% proficient
- Pershing Elem Humanities MagnetF · 9% proficient
- Drake Elem SchoolF · 6% proficient
Top high schools
- Yccs-mckinley-lakeside LeadershipD+ · 25% proficient
- Dunbar Vocational Career Acad HsF · 5% proficient
- Urban Prep Chtr Bronzeville HsF · 3% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Douglas, Chicago school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Douglas, 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 Douglas, Chicago against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in Douglas, Chicago
Is Douglas, Chicago a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Douglas, Chicago ranks 5,067th of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on transit, low disaster risk, and big-city access, and lowest on a weak job market and state finances. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Douglas, Chicago expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $240,826. The overall cost of living runs about 1% above the national average. Set against a $44,838 median income, cost of living beats 6% of neighborhoods.
Is Douglas, Chicago safe?
Douglas, Chicago is safer than 14% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $603 per resident a year.
Compare Douglas, Chicago with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Douglas, Chicago. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Douglas, 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.
Douglas, Chicago detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Douglas, Chicago: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Douglas, Chicago: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Douglas, Chicago: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Douglas, Chicago: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Douglas, 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.