Best PlacesHoffman Estates, IL Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Hoffman Estates, 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.
Hoffman Estates ranks 844th of 2,098 U.S. cities on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on population health by a wide margin, and taxes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Hoffman Estates
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.
Hoffman Estates' strengths and weaknesses
Where Hoffman Estates ranks high
- Health outlookBetter than 91% of cities
- Disaster safetyBetter than 90% of cities
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 87% of cities
- Heat safetyBetter than 81% of cities
- Big-city accessBetter than 81% of cities
Where Hoffman Estates ranks low
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 5% of cities
- Low property taxBetter than only 6% of cities
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 6% of cities
- School gradeC−, better than only 17% of cities
- Local economyBetter than only 29% of cities
What it costs to buy a home in Hoffman Estates
A household needs to earn about $105,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Hoffman Estates home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $115,849, 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 Hoffman Estates' effective rate of 2.07%, 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 7 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Hoffman Estates
Hoffman Estates'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 Hoffman Estates.
Who works in Hoffman Estates, and how
Work in Hoffman Estates centers on manufacturing and health care & social. Unemployment is low, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 75%
- Work from home 19%
- Transit, walk, or bike 6%
Life in Hoffman Estates
Hoffman Estates has more restaurants and bars per resident than 80% of cities and more parkland per resident than 94% of cities. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Hoffman Estates and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Hoffman Estates, month by month
Hoffman Estates sees roughly 75 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 87 degrees. January highs sit near 35, with lows near 19. The comfortable stretch runs May, June, and August through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 35° | 26° | 19° |
| April | 62° | 49° | 39° |
| July | 87° | 76° | 66° |
| October | 67° | 56° | 46° |
Flying in and out of Hoffman Estates
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 Hoffman Estates
Schools across Hoffman Estates average a C−, better than 17% of cities.
Top elementary schools
- Marion Jordan Elem SchoolA · 62% proficient
- Fairview Elem SchoolB+ · 51% proficient
- Hoover Math And Science AcademyB · 50% proficient
Top middle schools
- Plum Grove Jr High SchoolB · 45% proficient
- Dwight D Eisenhower JhsB · 44% proficient
- Barrington Middle Sch StationC+ · 38% proficient
Top high schools
- Barrington High SchoolA− · 60% proficient
- J B Conant High SchoolB · 49% proficient
- Hoffman Estates High SchoolC+ · 38% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Hoffman Estates school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Hoffman Estates 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 Hoffman Estates against the other 2,097 cities.
Who Hoffman Estates suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 75% of cities and 19% already work from home.
Retirees
Set weather, quiet, and health care weights on the map to test the fit.
Common questions about living in Hoffman Estates
Is Hoffman Estates a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Hoffman Estates ranks 844th of 2,098 cities. It scores highest on population health, low disaster risk, and a stable housing market, and lowest on taxes and property taxes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Hoffman Estates expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $341,190. The overall cost of living runs about 0% below the national average. Set against a $115,849 median income, cost of living beats 75% of cities.
Is Hoffman Estates safe?
Hoffman Estates is safer than 48% of cities. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $251 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Hoffman Estates?
July highs average about 87 degrees, and January highs near 35 with lows near 19. That works out to about 75 pleasant days a year, more than 36% of cities.
Is Hoffman Estates good for families?
Schools beat 17% of cities, crime safety beats 48%, and childcare runs $1,105 a month.
Compare Hoffman Estates with other cities
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Hoffman Estates. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Hoffman Estates 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.
Hoffman Estates detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Hoffman Estates: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Hoffman Estates: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Hoffman Estates: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Hoffman Estates: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Hoffman Estates 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.