Best PlacesMcHenry County, IL Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in McHenry County, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. The averages hide a wide spread here, so the area matters as much as the address. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
McHenry County ranks 351st of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. Paychecks stretch further here than almost anywhere else: the median household brings in $113,848, everyday costs sit below the national average, and an educated workforce ranks near the top of the country. The main drawbacks are property taxes, state finances, and taxes.
The best neighborhoods in McHenry County
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.
The best areas in McHenry County
The parts of McHenry County, ranked by the BestNeighborhood standard score across every neighborhood, highest scoring first. Each note says how that part differs from the rest of the county.
Huntley
More households have young kids, incomes run higher, and local pay stretches further.
Cary & Fox River Grove
More adults hold degrees and tree cover is thicker.
Crystal Lake, Lake in the Hills & Algonquin
Biking is better.
Island Lake & Oakwood Hills
Scores close to Crystal Lake, Lake in the Hills & Algonquin, except that it is quieter here.
Mchenry, Johnsburg & Spring Grove
More residents vote, though prices have run up more.
Woodstock & Marengo
Crime runs higher.
Wonder Lake & Richmond
Schools score lower and more homes sit empty.
Harvard
Homes cost less, though health care is harder to reach.
McHenry County shows why a single number is not enough. Some neighborhoods score in the bottom 8% of the country and others in the top 4%. Pick the area first, then the home.
McHenry County's strengths and weaknesses
McHenry County ranks where it does because the parts of life that are hardest to change mostly work here. Few empty homes is the standout, in the top 1% of counties. Big-city access and what local pay buys follow.
The one real hole is property taxes, near the bottom of the country. State finances and taxes also cost it ground. The measures below break that down, and the map shows how much of it holds street by street.
Where McHenry County ranks high
- Low vacancyBetter than 99% of counties
- Big-city accessBetter than 97% of counties
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 96% of counties
- Household income$113,848 median, better than 96% of counties
- Disaster safetyBetter than 93% of counties
Where McHenry County ranks low
- Low property taxBetter than only 1% of counties
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 2% of counties
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 3% of counties
- Cheap childcare$1,371 a month, better than only 5% of counties
- Short commute30.1 minutes each way, better than only 15% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in McHenry County
A household needs to earn about $98,000 a year to comfortably buy the median McHenry County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $113,848, 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 McHenry County's effective rate of 2.27%, 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 McHenry County
McHenry County'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 McHenry County.
Who works in McHenry County, and how
Work in McHenry County centers on manufacturing and retail trade. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 80%
- Work from home 16%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in McHenry County
McHenry County has more parkland per resident than 90% of counties. That concentrates in some parts of McHenry County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is McHenry County growing, and who is moving in?
McHenry County has grown about 3% over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from the rest of the Chicago, IL metro.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving McHenry County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in McHenry County, month by month
McHenry County sees roughly 89 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 McHenry County
Chicago O'Hare International sits about 31 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 McHenry County
Schools across McHenry County average a C, better than 33% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Leggee Elementary SchoolB · 46% proficient
- Martin Elementary SchoolB− · 44% proficient
- Glacier Ridge Elementary SchoolB− · 43% proficient
Top middle schools
- Nippersink Middle SchoolB− · 41% proficient
- Richard F Bernotas Middle SchB− · 40% proficient
- Barrington Middle Sch StationC+ · 38% proficient
Top high schools
- Barrington High SchoolA− · 60% proficient
- Prairie Ridge High SchoolB+ · 52% proficient
- Huntley High SchoolB · 48% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every McHenry County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
McHenry County 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 McHenry County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who McHenry County suits
Families
Schools land around the 33rd percentile and crime safety beats 87%.
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 96% of counties, internet is fast and widely advertised, and 16% already work from home.
Common questions about living in McHenry County
Is McHenry County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, McHenry County ranks 351st of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on few empty homes, big-city access, and what local pay buys, and lowest on property taxes and state finances. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is McHenry County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $313,425. The overall cost of living runs about 4% below the national average. Set against a $113,848 median income, cost of living beats 96% of counties.
Is McHenry County safe?
Yes, McHenry County is safer than 87% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $191 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in McHenry County?
July highs average about 85 degrees, and January highs near 32 with lows near 18. That works out to about 89 pleasant days a year, more than 51% of counties.
What are the best neighborhoods in McHenry County?
Using the default rankings, the highest-scoring areas are Huntley, Cary & Fox River Grove, and Crystal Lake, Lake in the Hills & Algonquin. The ranked list and the re-weightable map above let you re-sort them for your own priorities.
Is McHenry County good for families?
Schools beat 33% of counties, crime safety beats 87%, and childcare runs $1,371 a month.
Is McHenry County good for remote workers?
Cost of living against local pay beats 96% of counties, and the fastest advertised internet here beats 84% of counties. About 16% of workers already work from home.
Compare McHenry County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to McHenry County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in McHenry County 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.
McHenry County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for McHenry County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in McHenry County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of McHenry County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in McHenry County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
McHenry County 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.
- U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program: population growth and net migration behind the population-change section.
- 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.