Best PlacesGeneva, IL Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Geneva, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Local pay runs high here, and housing takes the biggest bite out of it. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Geneva ranks 245th of 2,098 U.S. cities on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on what local pay buys by a wide margin, and property taxes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Geneva
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.
Geneva's strengths and weaknesses
Where Geneva ranks high
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 95% of cities
- Household income$157,801 median, better than 93% of cities
- Voter turnoutBetter than 93% of cities
- Disaster safetyBetter than 92% of cities
- Heat safetyBetter than 91% of cities
Where Geneva ranks low
- Low property taxBetter than only 3% of cities
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 5% of cities
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 6% of cities
- Cheap childcare$1,380 a month, better than only 23% of cities
- Air qualityBetter than only 24% of cities
What it costs to buy a home in Geneva
A household needs to earn about $142,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Geneva home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $157,801, 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 Geneva's effective rate of 2.32%, 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 Geneva
Geneva'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 Geneva.
Who works in Geneva, and how
Work in Geneva centers on professional & technical and manufacturing. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 65%
- Work from home 28%
- Transit, walk, or bike 6%
Life in Geneva
Geneva has more restaurants and bars per resident than 88% of cities and more parkland per resident than 98% of cities. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Geneva and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Geneva, month by month
Geneva sees roughly 97 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 Geneva
Chicago O'Hare International sits about 23 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 Geneva
Schools across Geneva average a B−, better than 51% of cities.
Top elementary schools
- Munhall Elem SchoolB · 50% proficient
- Richmond Intermediate SchB− · 44% proficient
- Fabyan Elementary SchoolB− · 43% proficient
Top middle schools
- Thompson Middle SchoolB+ · 49% proficient
- Wredling Middle SchoolB+ · 48% proficient
- Sam Rotolo Middle SchB− · 41% proficient
Top high schools
- Geneva Community High SchoolB+ · 56% proficient
- St Charles East High SchoolB+ · 54% proficient
- Batavia Sr High SchoolB · 47% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Geneva school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Geneva 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 Geneva against the other 2,097 cities.
Who Geneva suits
Families
Schools land around the 51st percentile and crime safety beats 68%.
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 95% of cities, internet is fast and widely advertised, and 28% already work from home.
Retirees
The weather beats 58% of cities and health care access beats 90%.
Common questions about living in Geneva
Is Geneva a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Geneva ranks 245th of 2,098 cities. It scores highest on what local pay buys, high incomes, and civic engagement, and lowest on property taxes and taxes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Geneva expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $449,140. The overall cost of living runs about 4% above the national average. Set against a $157,801 median income, cost of living beats 95% of cities.
Is Geneva safe?
Yes, Geneva is safer than 68% of cities. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $209 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Geneva?
July highs average about 85 degrees, and January highs near 32 with lows near 18. That works out to about 97 pleasant days a year, more than 58% of cities.
Is Geneva good for families?
Schools beat 51% of cities, crime safety beats 68%, and childcare runs $1,380 a month.
Compare Geneva with other cities
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Geneva. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Geneva 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.
Geneva detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Geneva: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Geneva: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Geneva: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Geneva: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Geneva 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.