Best PlacesDuPage County, IL Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in DuPage County, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. The averages hide a wide spread here, so the area matters as much as the address. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
DuPage County ranks 173rd of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. Paychecks stretch further here than almost anywhere else: the median household brings in $124,274, wages outrun the cost of living, and an educated workforce ranks near the top of the country. The main drawbacks are childcare costs, property taxes, and state finances.
The best neighborhoods in DuPage 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 DuPage County
The parts of DuPage 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.
Naperville & Aurora
More adults hold degrees, more households have young kids, and schools score higher.
Glen Ellyn, Wheaton & Lombard
Transit reaches more jobs.
Darien, Westmont & Hinsdale
Woodridge, Lisle & Downers Grove
Scores close to Darien, Westmont & Hinsdale, except that biking is better here.
Elmhurst, Villa Park & Oak Brook
Prices have run up more.
Carol Stream, Bartlett & Hanover Park
Crime runs lower, though streets are more car-dependent.
West Chicago, Warrenville & Winfield
Scores close to Carol Stream, Bartlett & Hanover Park, except that tree cover is thicker here.
Glendale Heights, Bloomingdale & Roselle
Local pay stretches less far and incomes run lower.
Addison, Bensenville & Wood Dale
Health care is harder to reach and fewer residents vote.
DuPage County shows why a single number is not enough. Some neighborhoods score in the bottom 9% of the country and others in the top 1%. Pick the area first, then the home.
DuPage County's strengths and weaknesses
DuPage County ranks where it does because the parts of life that are hardest to change mostly work here. Big-city access is the standout, in the top 1% of counties. Population health and high incomes follow.
The one real hole is childcare costs, near the bottom of the country. Property taxes and state finances also cost it ground. The measures below break that down, and the map shows how much of it holds street by street.
Where DuPage County ranks high
- Big-city accessBetter than 99% of counties
- Health outlookBetter than 98% of counties
- Household income$124,274 median, better than 98% of counties
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 97% of counties
- Low vacancyBetter than 97% of counties
Where DuPage County ranks low
- Cheap childcare$1,560 a month, better than only 2% of counties
- Low property taxBetter than only 2% of counties
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 2% of counties
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 3% of counties
- QuietBetter than only 6% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in DuPage County
A household needs to earn about $128,000 a year to comfortably buy the median DuPage County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $124,274; the gap is small, which keeps homes within reach of local pay.
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 DuPage County's effective rate of 1.96%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices and rents, renting stays cheaper than buying across the first 10 years here, so the case for buying rests on staying much longer or on prices rising faster than assumed. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in DuPage County
DuPage County'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 DuPage County.
Who works in DuPage County, and how
Work in DuPage County centers on health care & social and manufacturing. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 71%
- Work from home 22%
- Transit, walk, or bike 8%
Life in DuPage County
DuPage County has more parkland per resident than 84% of counties. That concentrates in some parts of DuPage County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is DuPage County growing, and who is moving in?
DuPage County has held roughly flat in 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 DuPage County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in DuPage County, month by month
DuPage County sees roughly 77 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 85 degrees. January highs sit near 32, with lows near 18. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 32° | 25° | 18° |
| April | 61° | 49° | 39° |
| July | 85° | 75° | 65° |
| October | 64° | 54° | 45° |
Flying in and out of DuPage County
Chicago O'Hare International sits about 12 miles away. It is a large hub and boarded 40.8 million passengers in 2025, with 305 nonstop destinations.
The best schools in and around DuPage County
Schools across DuPage County average a C+, better than 55% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Brook Forest Elem SchoolA+ · 80% proficient
- Oak Elem SchoolA+ · 78% proficient
- Prospect Elem SchoolA+ · 75% proficient
Top middle schools
- Kennedy Junior High SchoolA+ · 68% proficient
- Hinsdale Middle SchoolA · 66% proficient
- Clarendon Hills Middle SchoolA · 65% proficient
Top high schools
- Hinsdale Central High SchoolA · 72% proficient
- Neuqua Valley High SchoolA− · 66% proficient
- Naperville North High SchoolA− · 62% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every DuPage County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
DuPage 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 DuPage County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who DuPage County suits
Families
Schools land around the 55th percentile and crime safety beats 56%.
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 97% of counties, internet is fast and widely advertised, and 22% already work from home.
Common questions about living in DuPage County
Is DuPage County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, DuPage County ranks 173rd of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on big-city access, population health, and high incomes, and lowest on childcare costs and property taxes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is DuPage County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $424,469. The overall cost of living runs about 3% above the national average. Set against a $124,274 median income, cost of living beats 97% of counties.
Is DuPage County safe?
Yes, DuPage County is safer than 56% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $247 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in DuPage County?
July highs average about 85 degrees, and January highs near 32 with lows near 18. That works out to about 77 pleasant days a year, more than 33% of counties.
What are the best neighborhoods in DuPage County?
Using the default rankings, the highest-scoring areas are Naperville & Aurora, Glen Ellyn, Wheaton & Lombard, and Darien, Westmont & Hinsdale. The ranked list and the re-weightable map above let you re-sort them for your own priorities.
Is DuPage County good for families?
Schools beat 55% of counties, crime safety beats 56%, and childcare runs $1,560 a month.
Is DuPage County good for remote workers?
Cost of living against local pay beats 97% of counties, and the fastest advertised internet here beats 78% of counties. About 22% of workers already work from home.
Compare DuPage County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to DuPage County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in DuPage 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.
DuPage County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for DuPage County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in DuPage County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of DuPage County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in DuPage County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
DuPage 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.