Best PlacesNorth Center, Chicago, IL Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around North Center, 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.
North Center, Chicago ranks 504th of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on biking by a wide margin, and state finances rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in North Center, 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.
North Center, Chicago's strengths and weaknesses
Where North Center, Chicago ranks high
- BikingBetter than 99% of neighborhoods
- Health outlookBetter than 98% of neighborhoods
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 96% of neighborhoods
- WalkabilityBetter than 95% of neighborhoods
- Household income$163,527 median, better than 94% of neighborhoods
Where North Center, Chicago ranks low
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 4% of neighborhoods
- Short commute34.0 minutes each way, better than only 8% of neighborhoods
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 10% of neighborhoods
- Low property taxBetter than only 12% of neighborhoods
- Crime safetyBetter than only 14% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in North Center, Chicago
A household needs to earn about $225,000 a year to comfortably buy the median North Center, Chicago home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $163,527, 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 North Center, Chicago's effective rate of 1.60%, 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 North Center, Chicago
North Center, Chicago runs younger than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for North Center, Chicago.
Who works in North Center, Chicago, and how
Work in North Center, Chicago centers on professional & technical and health care & social. Unemployment is low, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 42%
- Work from home 36%
- Transit, walk, or bike 23%
Life in North Center, Chicago
North Center, Chicago has more restaurants and bars per resident than 78% of neighborhoods. That concentrates in some parts of North Center, Chicago and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in North Center, Chicago, month by month
North Center, Chicago sees roughly 71 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 North Center, Chicago
Chicago O'Hare International sits about 12 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 North Center, Chicago
Schools across North Center, Chicago average a C+, better than 49% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Coonley Elem SchoolB+ · 54% proficient
- Stem Magnet Academy ElemB+ · 53% proficient
Top high schools
- Lane Technical High SchoolA+ · 83% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every North Center, Chicago school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
North Center, 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 North Center, Chicago against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in North Center, Chicago
Is North Center, Chicago a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, North Center, Chicago ranks 504th of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on biking, population health, and what local pay buys, 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 North Center, Chicago expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $774,157. The overall cost of living runs about 13% above the national average. Set against a $163,527 median income, cost of living beats 96% of neighborhoods.
Is North Center, Chicago safe?
North Center, Chicago is safer than 14% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $601 per resident a year.
Compare North Center, Chicago with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to North Center, Chicago. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in North Center, 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.
North Center, Chicago detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for North Center, Chicago: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in North Center, Chicago: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of North Center, Chicago: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in North Center, Chicago: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
North Center, 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.