Best PlacesLincoln Park, Chicago, IL Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Lincoln Park, 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.
Lincoln Park, Chicago ranks 586th 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 Lincoln 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.
Lincoln Park, Chicago's strengths and weaknesses
Where Lincoln Park, Chicago ranks high
- Health outlookBetter than 99% of neighborhoods
- WalkabilityBetter than 99% of neighborhoods
- BikingBetter than 97% of neighborhoods
- Educational attainmentBetter than 96% of neighborhoods
- TransitBetter than 96% of neighborhoods
Where Lincoln Park, Chicago ranks low
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 4% of neighborhoods
- Crime safetyBetter than only 8% of neighborhoods
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 10% of neighborhoods
- Short commute31.5 minutes each way, better than only 14% of neighborhoods
- Low property taxBetter than only 14% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in Lincoln Park, Chicago
A household needs to earn about $243,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Lincoln Park, Chicago home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $152,568, 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 Lincoln Park, 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.
Who lives in Lincoln Park, Chicago
Lincoln Park, 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 Lincoln Park, Chicago.
Who works in Lincoln Park, Chicago, and how
Work in Lincoln Park, Chicago centers on professional & technical and finance & insurance. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 29%
- Work from home 35%
- Transit, walk, or bike 36%
Life in Lincoln Park, Chicago
Lincoln Park, Chicago has more restaurants and bars per resident than 82% of neighborhoods and more late-night spots per resident than 76% of neighborhoods. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Lincoln Park, Chicago and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Lincoln Park, Chicago, month by month
Lincoln Park, 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 Lincoln Park, Chicago
Chicago Midway International sits about 11 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 Lincoln Park, Chicago
Schools across Lincoln Park, Chicago average a C+, better than 49% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Lincoln Elem SchoolA · 63% proficient
- Mayer Elem SchoolB+ · 54% proficient
- Stem Magnet Academy ElemB+ · 53% proficient
Top high schools
- Lincoln Park High SchoolB · 48% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Lincoln Park, Chicago school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Lincoln 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 Lincoln Park, Chicago against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Who Lincoln Park, Chicago suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 92% of neighborhoods and 35% already work from home.
Common questions about living in Lincoln Park, Chicago
Is Lincoln Park, Chicago a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Lincoln Park, Chicago ranks 586th of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on population health, walkability, and biking, and lowest on state finances and crime. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Lincoln Park, Chicago expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $844,178. The overall cost of living runs about 25% above the national average. Set against a $152,568 median income, cost of living beats 92% of neighborhoods.
Is Lincoln Park, Chicago safe?
Lincoln Park, Chicago is safer than 8% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $714 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Lincoln Park, 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 Lincoln Park, Chicago good for families?
Schools beat 49% of neighborhoods, crime safety beats 8%, and childcare runs $1,105 a month.
Compare Lincoln Park, Chicago with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Lincoln Park, Chicago. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Lincoln 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.
Lincoln Park, Chicago detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Lincoln Park, Chicago: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Lincoln Park, Chicago: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Lincoln Park, Chicago: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Lincoln Park, Chicago: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Lincoln 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.