Best PlacesO'Hare, Chicago, IL Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around O'Hare, 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.
O'Hare, Chicago ranks 2,562nd 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 O'Hare, 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.
O'Hare, Chicago's strengths and weaknesses
Where O'Hare, Chicago ranks high
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 98% of neighborhoods
- Big-city accessBetter than 89% of neighborhoods
- Disaster safetyBetter than 86% of neighborhoods
- Low vacancyBetter than 80% of neighborhoods
- Local economyBetter than 78% of neighborhoods
Where O'Hare, 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
- QuietBetter than only 14% of neighborhoods
- Low property taxBetter than only 16% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in O'Hare, Chicago
A household needs to earn about $73,000 a year to comfortably buy the median O'Hare, Chicago home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $79,939, 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 O'Hare, Chicago's effective rate of 1.50%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices, buying tends to cost more than renting for about the first 7 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in O'Hare, Chicago
O'Hare, Chicago's age mix sits close to the national median, 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 O'Hare, Chicago.
Who works in O'Hare, Chicago, and how
Work in O'Hare, Chicago centers on transportation & warehousing and professional & technical. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 78%
- Work from home 11%
- Transit, walk, or bike 11%
Life in O'Hare, Chicago
O'Hare, Chicago has more parkland per resident than 84% of neighborhoods. That concentrates in some parts of O'Hare, Chicago and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in O'Hare, Chicago, month by month
O'Hare, 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 O'Hare, Chicago
Chicago O'Hare International sits about 3 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 O'Hare, Chicago
Schools across O'Hare, Chicago average a C+, better than 44% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Stem Magnet Academy ElemB+ · 53% proficient
- George Washington Elem SchoolB · 45% proficient
- Dirksen Elem SchoolC− · 30% proficient
Top middle schools
- Lincoln Middle SchoolB+ · 50% proficient
Top high schools
- East Leyden High SchoolD+ · 24% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every O'Hare, Chicago school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
O'Hare, 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 O'Hare, Chicago against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in O'Hare, Chicago
Is O'Hare, Chicago a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, O'Hare, Chicago ranks 2,562nd of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on a stable housing market, big-city access, and low disaster risk, 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 O'Hare, Chicago expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $256,592. The overall cost of living runs about 1% below the national average. Set against a $79,939 median income, cost of living beats 55% of neighborhoods.
Is O'Hare, Chicago safe?
Yes, O'Hare, Chicago is safer than 64% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $293 per resident a year.
Compare O'Hare, Chicago with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to O'Hare, Chicago. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in O'Hare, 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.
O'Hare, Chicago detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for O'Hare, Chicago: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in O'Hare, Chicago: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of O'Hare, Chicago: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in O'Hare, Chicago: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
O'Hare, 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.