Best PlacesGold Coast, Chicago, IL Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Gold Coast, 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.
Gold Coast, Chicago ranks 853rd of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on walkability by a wide margin, and state finances rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Gold Coast, 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.
Gold Coast, Chicago's strengths and weaknesses
Where Gold Coast, Chicago ranks high
- WalkabilityBetter than 99% of neighborhoods
- BikingBetter than 99% of neighborhoods
- Educational attainmentBetter than 98% of neighborhoods
- TransitBetter than 97% of neighborhoods
- Healthcare accessBetter than 94% of neighborhoods
Where Gold Coast, Chicago ranks low
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 4% of neighborhoods
- Crime safetyBetter than only 10% of neighborhoods
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 10% of neighborhoods
- Tree shadeBetter than only 11% of neighborhoods
- Low property taxBetter than only 12% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in Gold Coast, Chicago
A household needs to earn about $153,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Gold Coast, Chicago home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $117,681, 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 Gold Coast, Chicago's effective rate of 1.60%, 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 Gold Coast, Chicago
Gold Coast, Chicago runs older 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 Gold Coast, Chicago.
Who works in Gold Coast, Chicago, and how
Work in Gold Coast, Chicago centers on professional & technical and finance & insurance. Unemployment is low, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 25%
- Work from home 29%
- Transit, walk, or bike 46%
Life in Gold Coast, Chicago
Gold Coast, Chicago has more restaurants and bars per resident than 66% of neighborhoods. That concentrates in some parts of Gold Coast, Chicago and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Gold Coast, Chicago, month by month
Gold Coast, 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 Gold Coast, Chicago
Chicago Midway International sits about 10 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 Gold Coast, Chicago
Schools across Gold Coast, Chicago average a C+, better than 49% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Stem Magnet Academy ElemB+ · 53% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Gold Coast, Chicago school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Gold Coast, 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 Gold Coast, Chicago against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Who Gold Coast, Chicago suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 87% of neighborhoods and 29% already work from home.
Common questions about living in Gold Coast, Chicago
Is Gold Coast, Chicago a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Gold Coast, Chicago ranks 853rd of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on walkability, biking, and an educated workforce, and lowest on state finances and crime. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Gold Coast, Chicago expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $527,066. The overall cost of living runs about 18% above the national average. Set against a $117,681 median income, cost of living beats 87% of neighborhoods.
Is Gold Coast, Chicago safe?
Gold Coast, Chicago is safer than 10% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $672 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Gold Coast, 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 Gold Coast, Chicago good for families?
Schools beat 49% of neighborhoods, crime safety beats 10%, and childcare runs $1,105 a month.
Compare Gold Coast, Chicago with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Gold Coast, Chicago. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Gold Coast, 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.
Gold Coast, Chicago detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Gold Coast, Chicago: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Gold Coast, Chicago: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Gold Coast, Chicago: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Gold Coast, Chicago: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Gold Coast, 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.