Best PlacesEast Garfield Park, Chicago, IL Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around East Garfield Park, 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.
East Garfield Park, Chicago ranks 5,577th of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on transit by a wide margin, and state finances rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in East Garfield Park, 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.
East Garfield Park, Chicago's strengths and weaknesses
Where East Garfield Park, Chicago ranks high
- TransitBetter than 94% of neighborhoods
- Big-city accessBetter than 91% of neighborhoods
- BikingBetter than 89% of neighborhoods
- Disaster safetyBetter than 88% of neighborhoods
- WalkabilityBetter than 82% of neighborhoods
Where East Garfield Park, Chicago ranks low
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 4% of neighborhoods
- Local economyBetter than only 5% of neighborhoods
- Household income$41,979 median, better than only 5% of neighborhoods
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 6% of neighborhoods
- Short commute35.6 minutes each way, better than only 6% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in East Garfield Park, Chicago
A household needs to earn about $75,000 a year to comfortably buy the median East Garfield Park, Chicago home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $41,979, 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 East Garfield Park, Chicago's effective rate of 1.31%, 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 East Garfield Park, Chicago
East Garfield Park, Chicago runs younger than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for East Garfield Park, Chicago.
Who works in East Garfield Park, Chicago, and how
Work in East Garfield Park, Chicago centers on health care & social and transportation & warehousing. Unemployment runs well above the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 60%
- Work from home 12%
- Transit, walk, or bike 28%
Life in East Garfield Park, Chicago
East Garfield Park, Chicago has more parkland per resident than 84% of neighborhoods. That concentrates in some parts of East Garfield Park, Chicago and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in East Garfield Park, Chicago, month by month
East Garfield Park, 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 East Garfield Park, Chicago
Chicago Midway International sits about 7 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 East Garfield Park, Chicago
Schools across East Garfield Park, Chicago average a C+, better than 48% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Stem Magnet Academy ElemB+ · 53% proficient
- Southwest Elem SchoolB− · 40% proficient
- Locke A Elem Charter AcademyD · 16% proficient
Top middle schools
- Central Middle SchoolC− · 28% proficient
- Learn Chtr - Middle SchoolF · 8% proficient
Top high schools
- Raby High SchoolF · 5% proficient
- Manley Career Academy High SchoolF · 5% proficient
- Marshall Metropolitan High SchoolF · 3% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every East Garfield Park, Chicago school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
East Garfield Park, 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 East Garfield Park, Chicago against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Who East Garfield Park, Chicago suits
Retirees
Set weather, quiet, and health care weights on the map to test the fit.
Common questions about living in East Garfield Park, Chicago
Is East Garfield Park, Chicago a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, East Garfield Park, Chicago ranks 5,577th of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on transit, big-city access, and biking, and lowest on state finances and a weak job market. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is East Garfield Park, Chicago expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $267,342. The overall cost of living runs about 1% below the national average. Set against a $41,979 median income, cost of living beats 6% of neighborhoods.
Is East Garfield Park, Chicago safe?
East Garfield Park, Chicago is safer than 6% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $741 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in East Garfield Park, Chicago?
July highs average about 86 degrees, and January highs near 34 with lows near 22. That works out to about 76 pleasant days a year, more than 34% of neighborhoods.
Is East Garfield Park, Chicago good for families?
Schools beat 48% of neighborhoods, crime safety beats 6%, and childcare runs $1,105 a month.
Compare East Garfield Park, Chicago with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to East Garfield Park, Chicago. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in East Garfield Park, 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.
East Garfield Park, Chicago detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for East Garfield Park, Chicago: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in East Garfield Park, Chicago: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of East Garfield Park, Chicago: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in East Garfield Park, Chicago: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
East Garfield Park, 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.