Best PlacesGrand Boulevard, Chicago, IL Best Neighborhoods

2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026

Every neighborhood in and around Grand Boulevard, 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.

See the map of best neighborhoods

Grand Boulevard, Chicago ranks 4,059th of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on biking by a wide margin, and state finances rank lowest.

#4,059
of 5,983 neighborhoods
BestNeighborhood rank
Defaults weight crime safety, affordability, schools, and weather highest: the things hardest to change after a move
N/A
of 5,983 neighborhoods
Your rank
Set your priorities to see your rank

The best neighborhoods in Grand Boulevard, Chicago

Map of the best neighborhoods in the Grand Boulevard, Chicago area, with better matches in green and worse matches in red
Click the map to explore
National median
Worse match Better match
Colorblind friendly off
Popular priorities:

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.

Grand Boulevard, Chicago's strengths and weaknesses

Top 5%Biking
Top 10%Transit
Top 10%Walkability
Each measure against the national median. Bars to the right beat the median; bars to the left fall short. Percentiles compare Grand Boulevard, Chicago with other neighborhoods.

Where Grand Boulevard, Chicago ranks high

  • BikingBetter than 97% of neighborhoods
  • TransitBetter than 94% of neighborhoods
  • WalkabilityBetter than 93% of neighborhoods
  • Cell coverageBetter than 90% of neighborhoods
  • Big-city accessBetter than 88% of neighborhoods

Where Grand Boulevard, Chicago ranks low

  • State fiscal healthBetter than only 4% of neighborhoods
  • Local economyBetter than only 9% of neighborhoods
  • Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 10% of neighborhoods
  • Internet speedBetter than only 11% of neighborhoods
  • Crime safetyBetter than only 12% of neighborhoods

What it costs to buy a home in Grand Boulevard, Chicago

A household needs to earn about $93,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Grand Boulevard, Chicago home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $61,337, so buying stretches a typical household.

Income to buy the median home
$93,000
a year, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate
Estimated monthly payment
$2,179
principal, interest, tax, and insurance on a $323,906 home
Median rent
$1,231
a month, across all home sizes

Where the monthly payment goes

Principal & interest$1,652
Property tax$420
Homeowners insurance$108

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 Grand Boulevard, Chicago's effective rate of 1.56%, 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.

Cumulative cost of renting versus owning the median home, first 10 years. Illustrative estimate.

Who lives in Grand Boulevard, Chicago

Grand Boulevard, Chicago's age mix sits close to the national median, and households here run smaller than average.

Median age
42
about the U.S. median of 41
Residents 65 and older
18%
versus 18% nationally
Average household
2.1
below the U.S. average of 2.6

Residents by age

Under 1820%
18 to 3423%
35 to 4920%
50 to 6419%
65 and older18%

Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Grand Boulevard, Chicago.


Who works in Grand Boulevard, Chicago, and how

Work in Grand Boulevard, Chicago centers on health care & social and education. Unemployment runs well above the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.

Work from home
25%
above the national average
Unemployment
14.2%
above the national average
Job growth
+1.0%
/y 2019-2023, slower than the national pace

Largest industries

Health care & social19%
Education15%
Professional & technical10%
Retail trade9%
Transportation & warehousing9%

How people get to work

  • Drive or carpool 49%
  • Work from home 25%
  • Transit, walk, or bike 25%

Life in Grand Boulevard, Chicago

The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Grand Boulevard, Chicago.

Places to eat and drink
71
restaurants, bars, and fast food, about 29.2 per 10,000 residents, more than 52% of neighborhoods
Coffee shops
8
about 3.3 per 10,000 residents, more than 64% of neighborhoods

What the weather is like in Grand Boulevard, Chicago, month by month

Grand Boulevard, 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.

Average daily high, mean, and low in degrees Fahrenheit, NOAA station data 2016 to 2025.
Show the monthly temperatures
MonthAvg highAvgAvg low
January34°28°22°
April61°50°43°
July86°77°70°
October66°57°49°

Flying in and out of Grand Boulevard, 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.

Nearest airport
MDW
Chicago Midway International, about 7 miles
Airport size
Large hub
31st-busiest in the US, 113 nonstop destinations
Average drive
10 min
from the area, with no traffic

The best schools in and around Grand Boulevard, Chicago

Schools across Grand Boulevard, Chicago average a C+, better than 49% of neighborhoods.

Top elementary schools

Top high schools

Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Grand Boulevard, Chicago school and its grade on SchoolGrade.


Grand Boulevard, 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 Grand Boulevard, Chicago against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.


Who Grand Boulevard, Chicago suits

Families

Schools land around the 49th percentile.

See the families priority ↑

Remote workers

25% already work from home.

See the remote-work priority ↑

Retirees

It is quieter than 67%.

See the retirees priority ↑


Common questions about living in Grand Boulevard, Chicago

Is Grand Boulevard, Chicago a good place to live?

Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Grand Boulevard, Chicago ranks 4,059th of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on biking, transit, and walkability, 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 Grand Boulevard, Chicago expensive to live in?

The median home is worth $323,906. The overall cost of living runs about 6% below the national average. Set against a $61,337 median income, cost of living beats 35% of neighborhoods.

Is Grand Boulevard, Chicago safe?

Grand Boulevard, Chicago is safer than 12% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $635 per resident a year.

What is the weather like in Grand Boulevard, 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 Grand Boulevard, Chicago good for families?

Schools beat 49% of neighborhoods, crime safety beats 12%, and childcare runs $1,105 a month.


Compare Grand Boulevard, Chicago with other neighborhoods


Sources and methodology

Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Grand Boulevard, Chicago. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Grand Boulevard, 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.

Grand Boulevard, Chicago detail on BestNeighborhood maps:

  1. Walk Grade for Grand Boulevard, Chicago: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
  2. Noise in Grand Boulevard, Chicago: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
  3. Conservative vs liberal map of Grand Boulevard, Chicago: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
  4. Mobile and cell coverage in Grand Boulevard, Chicago: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.

Grand Boulevard, Chicago detail on related sites:

  1. CrimeGrade: neighborhood crime rates behind the crime safety score.
  2. ISPreports.org: provider by provider internet availability and advertised speeds.
  3. CoverageWatch: the car insurance premiums behind the cheap car insurance score.

Federal and public data:

  1. 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.
  2. NOAA Global Surface Summary of the Day: the daily station record behind the monthly temperatures and the pleasant-day count.
  3. FAA Passenger Boarding Data: airport size and annual passenger counts.
  4. Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey: the 30-year fixed rate used in the cost-to-buy estimate.
  5. FBI Crime Data Explorer: reported offenses behind the tangible crime cost estimate.
  6. U.S. EPA Air Quality System: five year average air quality index.
  7. FEMA National Risk Index: expected annual loss from natural hazards.
  8. CDC PLACES: disease burden, preventable risk, and barriers to care.
  9. National Center for Education Statistics: school enrollment and assessment inputs behind the school grade.
  10. FCC National Broadband Map: internet and wireless availability.
  11. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: employment and job growth behind the local economy score.
  12. Religious activity uses a proprietary religious signal measurement.