Best PlacesNorwood Park, Chicago, IL Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Norwood Park, Chicago, 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.
Norwood Park, Chicago ranks 1,822nd of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on a stable housing market by a wide margin, and the weather ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Norwood 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.
Norwood Park, Chicago's strengths and weaknesses
Where Norwood Park, Chicago ranks high
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 97% of neighborhoods
- Disaster safetyBetter than 89% of neighborhoods
- Big-city accessBetter than 89% of neighborhoods
- Low vacancyBetter than 82% of neighborhoods
- Healthcare accessBetter than 81% of neighborhoods
Where Norwood Park, Chicago ranks low
- Nice weatherabout 51 pleasant days a year, better than only 1% of neighborhoods
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 4% of neighborhoods
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 10% of neighborhoods
- Low property taxBetter than only 14% of neighborhoods
- Short commute30.8 minutes each way, better than only 16% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in Norwood Park, Chicago
A household needs to earn about $115,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Norwood Park, Chicago home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $115,513, 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 Norwood 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 Norwood Park, Chicago
Norwood Park, Chicago runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Norwood Park, Chicago.
Who works in Norwood Park, Chicago, and how
Work in Norwood Park, Chicago centers on health care & social and public administration. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 74%
- Work from home 14%
- Transit, walk, or bike 12%
Life in Norwood Park, Chicago
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Norwood Park, Chicago.
What the weather is like in Norwood Park, Chicago, month by month
Norwood Park, Chicago 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 Norwood Park, Chicago
Chicago O'Hare International sits about 5 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 Norwood Park, Chicago
Schools across Norwood Park, Chicago average a C+, better than 48% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Stem Magnet Academy ElemB+ · 53% proficient
- Theodore Roosevelt Elem SchoolB− · 42% proficient
- Abraham Lincoln Elem SchoolB− · 41% proficient
Top middle schools
- Lincoln Middle SchoolB+ · 50% proficient
- Gwendolyn Brooks Middle SchoolB− · 43% proficient
Top high schools
- Niles West High SchoolC+ · 40% proficient
- Taft High SchoolC− · 28% proficient
- Ridgewood Comm High SchoolD+ · 24% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Norwood Park, Chicago school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Norwood 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 Norwood Park, Chicago against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Who Norwood Park, Chicago suits
Families
Schools land around the 48th percentile and crime safety beats 56%.
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 80% of neighborhoods, internet is fast and widely advertised, and 14% already work from home.
Common questions about living in Norwood Park, Chicago
Is Norwood Park, Chicago a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Norwood Park, Chicago ranks 1,822nd of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on a stable housing market, low disaster risk, and big-city access, and lowest on the weather and state finances. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Norwood Park, Chicago expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $398,269. The overall cost of living runs about 5% above the national average. Set against a $115,513 median income, cost of living beats 80% of neighborhoods.
Is Norwood Park, Chicago safe?
Yes, Norwood Park, Chicago is safer than 56% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $329 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Norwood Park, Chicago?
July highs average about 87 degrees, and January highs near 35 with lows near 19. That works out to about 51 pleasant days a year, more than 0% of neighborhoods.
Is Norwood Park, Chicago good for families?
Schools beat 48% of neighborhoods, crime safety beats 56%, and childcare runs $1,105 a month.
Compare Norwood Park, Chicago with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Norwood Park, Chicago. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Norwood 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.
Norwood Park, Chicago detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Norwood Park, Chicago: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Norwood Park, Chicago: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Norwood Park, Chicago: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Norwood Park, Chicago: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Norwood 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.