Best PlacesIrving Park, Chicago, IL Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Irving Park, Chicago, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. This page is for people who live here or already know they want to. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Irving Park, Chicago ranks 2,235th of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on biking by a wide margin, and the weather ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Irving 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.
Irving Park, Chicago's strengths and weaknesses
Where Irving Park, Chicago ranks high
- BikingBetter than 96% of neighborhoods
- Cell coverageBetter than 92% of neighborhoods
- WalkabilityBetter than 91% of neighborhoods
- Big-city accessBetter than 91% of neighborhoods
- TransitBetter than 89% of neighborhoods
Where Irving Park, Chicago ranks low
- Nice weatherabout 51 pleasant days a year, better than only 1% of neighborhoods
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 4% of neighborhoods
- Short commute33.8 minutes each way, better than only 8% of neighborhoods
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 10% of neighborhoods
- Low property taxBetter than only 15% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in Irving Park, Chicago
A household needs to earn about $141,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Irving Park, Chicago home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $95,663, 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 Irving Park, Chicago's effective rate of 1.54%, 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 Irving Park, Chicago
Irving 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 Irving Park, Chicago.
Who works in Irving Park, Chicago, and how
Work in Irving Park, Chicago centers on professional & technical and health care & social. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 55%
- Work from home 24%
- Transit, walk, or bike 21%
Life in Irving Park, Chicago
Irving Park, Chicago has more restaurants and bars per resident than 67% of neighborhoods and more parkland per resident than 66% of neighborhoods. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Irving Park, Chicago and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Irving Park, Chicago, month by month
Irving Park, Chicago sees roughly 51 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 Irving Park, Chicago
Chicago O'Hare International sits about 10 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 Irving Park, Chicago
Schools across Irving Park, Chicago average a C+, better than 49% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Stem Magnet Academy ElemB+ · 53% proficient
- Belding Elem SchoolB− · 40% proficient
- Disney Ii Elem SchoolC · 33% proficient
Top high schools
- Disney Ii Magnet HsD · 23% proficient
- Intrinsic Charter High SchoolD− · 17% proficient
- Schurz High SchoolF · 7% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Irving Park, Chicago school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Irving 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 Irving Park, Chicago against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Who Irving Park, Chicago suits
Retirees
Set weather, quiet, and health care weights on the map to test the fit.
Common questions about living in Irving Park, Chicago
Is Irving Park, Chicago a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Irving Park, Chicago ranks 2,235th of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on biking, cell coverage, and walkability, and lowest on the weather and state finances. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Irving Park, Chicago expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $491,358. The overall cost of living runs about 7% above the national average. Set against a $95,663 median income, cost of living beats 64% of neighborhoods.
Is Irving Park, Chicago safe?
Irving Park, Chicago is safer than 29% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $469 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Irving Park, Chicago?
July highs average about 87 degrees, and January highs near 35 with lows near 19. That works out to about 51 pleasant days a year, more than 0% of neighborhoods.
Is Irving Park, Chicago good for families?
Schools beat 49% of neighborhoods, crime safety beats 29%, and childcare runs $1,105 a month.
Compare Irving Park, Chicago with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Irving Park, Chicago. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Irving 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.
Irving Park, Chicago detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Irving Park, Chicago: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Irving Park, Chicago: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Irving Park, Chicago: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Irving Park, Chicago: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Irving 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.