Best PlacesMontclare, Elmwood Park, IL Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Montclare, Elmwood Park, 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.
Montclare, Elmwood Park ranks 3,385th of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on cell coverage by a wide margin, and the weather ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Montclare, Elmwood Park
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.
Montclare, Elmwood Park's strengths and weaknesses
Where Montclare, Elmwood Park ranks high
- Cell coverageBetter than 96% of neighborhoods
- Big-city accessBetter than 91% of neighborhoods
- Disaster safetyBetter than 88% of neighborhoods
- TransitBetter than 86% of neighborhoods
- Low vacancyBetter than 82% of neighborhoods
Where Montclare, Elmwood Park ranks low
- Nice weatherabout 51 pleasant days a year, better than only 1% of neighborhoods
- Short commute38.7 minutes each way, better than only 3% of neighborhoods
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 4% of neighborhoods
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 10% of neighborhoods
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 23% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in Montclare, Elmwood Park
A household needs to earn about $145,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Montclare, Elmwood Park home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $77,555, 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 Montclare, Elmwood Park's effective rate of 1.01%, 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 Montclare, Elmwood Park
Montclare, Elmwood Park'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 Montclare, Elmwood Park.
Who works in Montclare, Elmwood Park, and how
Work in Montclare, Elmwood Park centers on retail trade and education. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 74%
- Work from home 16%
- Transit, walk, or bike 10%
Life in Montclare, Elmwood Park
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Montclare, Elmwood Park.
What the weather is like in Montclare, Elmwood Park, month by month
Montclare, Elmwood Park 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 Montclare, Elmwood Park
Chicago O'Hare International sits about 6 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 Montclare, Elmwood Park
Schools across Montclare, Elmwood Park average a C+, better than 49% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Stem Magnet Academy ElemB+ · 53% proficient
- Locke J Elem SchoolD− · 14% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Montclare, Elmwood Park school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Montclare, Elmwood Park 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 Montclare, Elmwood Park against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in Montclare, Elmwood Park
Is Montclare, Elmwood Park a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Montclare, Elmwood Park ranks 3,385th of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on cell coverage, big-city access, and low disaster risk, and lowest on the weather and long commutes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Montclare, Elmwood Park expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $540,210. The overall cost of living runs about 0% above the national average. Set against a $77,555 median income, cost of living beats 43% of neighborhoods.
Is Montclare, Elmwood Park safe?
Montclare, Elmwood Park is safer than 48% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $364 per resident a year.
Compare Montclare, Elmwood Park with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Montclare, Elmwood Park. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Montclare, Elmwood Park 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.
Montclare, Elmwood Park detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Montclare, Elmwood Park: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Montclare, Elmwood Park: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Montclare, Elmwood Park: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Montclare, Elmwood Park: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Montclare, Elmwood Park 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.