Best PlacesLake in the Hills, IL Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Lake in the Hills, 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.
Lake in the Hills ranks 546th of 2,098 U.S. cities on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on few empty homes by a wide margin, and property taxes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Lake in the Hills
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.
Lake in the Hills' strengths and weaknesses
Where Lake in the Hills ranks high
- Low vacancyBetter than 97% of cities
- Heat safetyBetter than 96% of cities
- Disaster safetyBetter than 91% of cities
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 86% of cities
- Crime safetyBetter than 83% of cities
Where Lake in the Hills 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
- Short commute31.8 minutes each way, better than only 15% of cities
- WalkabilityBetter than only 25% of cities
What it costs to buy a home in Lake in the Hills
A household needs to earn about $102,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Lake in the Hills home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $127,590, 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 Lake in the Hills' effective rate of 2.30%, 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 9 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Lake in the Hills
Lake in the Hills runs younger than the country, and households here run larger than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Lake in the Hills.
Who works in Lake in the Hills, and how
Work in Lake in the Hills centers on manufacturing and retail trade. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 80%
- Work from home 18%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in Lake in the Hills
Lake in the Hills has more parkland per resident than 97% of cities. That concentrates in some parts of Lake in the Hills and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Lake in the Hills, month by month
Lake in the Hills sees roughly 101 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 Lake in the Hills
Chicago O'Hare International sits about 28 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 Lake in the Hills
Schools across Lake in the Hills average a C+, better than 33% of cities.
Top elementary schools
- Leggee Elementary SchoolB · 46% proficient
- Martin Elementary SchoolB− · 44% proficient
- Glacier Ridge Elementary SchoolB− · 43% proficient
Top middle schools
- Richard F Bernotas Middle SchB− · 40% proficient
- Hannah Beardsley Middle SchoolC · 32% proficient
- Marlowe Middle SchoolC · 31% proficient
Top high schools
- Prairie Ridge High SchoolB+ · 52% proficient
- Huntley High SchoolB · 48% proficient
- Cary-grove Community High SchoolB− · 44% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Lake in the Hills school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Lake in the Hills 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 Lake in the Hills against the other 2,097 cities.
Who Lake in the Hills suits
Families
Schools land around the 33rd percentile and crime safety beats 83%.
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 86% of cities, internet is fast and widely advertised, and 18% already work from home.
Retirees
The weather beats 62% of cities, health care access beats 60%, and it is quieter than 75%.
Common questions about living in Lake in the Hills
Is Lake in the Hills a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Lake in the Hills ranks 546th of 2,098 cities. It scores highest on few empty homes, heat safety, and low disaster risk, 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 Lake in the Hills expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $322,416. The overall cost of living runs about 4% below the national average. Set against a $127,590 median income, cost of living beats 86% of cities.
Is Lake in the Hills safe?
Yes, Lake in the Hills is safer than 83% of cities. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $169 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Lake in the Hills?
July highs average about 85 degrees, and January highs near 32 with lows near 18. That works out to about 101 pleasant days a year, more than 62% of cities.
Is Lake in the Hills good for families?
Schools beat 33% of cities, crime safety beats 83%, and childcare runs $1,371 a month.
Compare Lake in the Hills with other cities
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Lake in the Hills. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Lake in the Hills 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.
Lake in the Hills detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Lake in the Hills: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Lake in the Hills: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Lake in the Hills: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Lake in the Hills: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Lake in the Hills 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.