Best PlacesLake View, Chicago, IL Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Lake View, Chicago, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Local pay runs high here, and housing takes the biggest bite out of it. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Lake View, Chicago ranks 693rd of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on population health by a wide margin, and state finances rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Lake View, 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.
Lake View, Chicago's strengths and weaknesses
Where Lake View, Chicago ranks high
- Health outlookBetter than 99% of neighborhoods
- WalkabilityBetter than 99% of neighborhoods
- BikingBetter than 97% of neighborhoods
- TransitBetter than 96% of neighborhoods
- Educational attainmentBetter than 96% of neighborhoods
Where Lake View, Chicago ranks low
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 4% of neighborhoods
- Short commute33.5 minutes each way, better than only 9% of neighborhoods
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 10% of neighborhoods
- Low property taxBetter than only 10% of neighborhoods
- Crime safetyBetter than only 10% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in Lake View, Chicago
A household needs to earn about $178,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Lake View, Chicago home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $128,699, 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 Lake View, Chicago's effective rate of 1.67%, 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 Lake View, Chicago
Lake View, Chicago runs younger 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 Lake View, Chicago.
Who works in Lake View, Chicago, and how
Work in Lake View, Chicago centers on professional & technical and education. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 25%
- Work from home 38%
- Transit, walk, or bike 38%
Life in Lake View, Chicago
Lake View, Chicago has more restaurants and bars per resident than 81% of neighborhoods and more parkland per resident than 88% of neighborhoods. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Lake View, Chicago and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Lake View, Chicago, month by month
Lake View, 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 Lake View, Chicago
Chicago Midway International sits about 12 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 Lake View, Chicago
Schools across Lake View, Chicago average a C+, better than 49% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Hawthorne Elem Scholastic AcademyA · 70% proficient
- Blaine Elem SchoolA− · 58% proficient
- Burley Elem SchoolA− · 57% proficient
Top high schools
- Lake View High SchoolF · 9% proficient
- Goode Stem Academy HsF · 6% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Lake View, Chicago school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Lake View, 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 Lake View, Chicago against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Who Lake View, Chicago suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 89% of neighborhoods and 38% already work from home.
Common questions about living in Lake View, Chicago
Is Lake View, Chicago a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Lake View, Chicago ranks 693rd of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on population health, walkability, and biking, and lowest on state finances and long commutes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Lake View, Chicago expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $610,109. The overall cost of living runs about 12% above the national average. Set against a $128,699 median income, cost of living beats 89% of neighborhoods.
Is Lake View, Chicago safe?
Lake View, Chicago is safer than 10% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $648 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Lake View, 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 Lake View, Chicago good for families?
Schools beat 49% of neighborhoods, crime safety beats 10%, and childcare runs $1,105 a month.
Compare Lake View, Chicago with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Lake View, Chicago. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Lake View, 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.
Lake View, Chicago detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Lake View, Chicago: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Lake View, Chicago: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Lake View, Chicago: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Lake View, Chicago: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Lake View, 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.