Best PlacesSouth Chicago Heights, IL Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around South Chicago Heights, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Several measures below read low, and the ranked lists name which ones. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
South Chicago Heights ranks 39,354th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on cell coverage by a wide margin, and the schools rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in South Chicago Heights
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.
South Chicago Heights' strengths and weaknesses
Where South Chicago Heights ranks high
- Cell coverageBetter than 99% of towns
- TransitBetter than 98% of towns
- BikingBetter than 98% of towns
- WalkabilityBetter than 98% of towns
- Big-city accessBetter than 97% of towns
Where South Chicago Heights ranks low
- School gradeF, better than only 2% of towns
- Healthcare accessBetter than only 3% of towns
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 3% of towns
- Educational attainmentBetter than only 3% of towns
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 3% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in South Chicago Heights
A household needs to earn about $45,000 a year to comfortably buy the median South Chicago Heights home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $59,948, 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 South Chicago Heights' effective rate of 1.88%, 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 4 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in South Chicago Heights
South Chicago Heights'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 South Chicago Heights.
Who works in South Chicago Heights, and how
Work in South Chicago Heights centers on hospitality & food and manufacturing. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 88%
- Work from home 6%
- Transit, walk, or bike 5%
Life in South Chicago Heights
South Chicago Heights has more restaurants and bars per resident than 89% of towns. That concentrates in some parts of South Chicago Heights and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in South Chicago Heights, month by month
South Chicago Heights sees roughly 74 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 84 degrees. January highs sit near 33, with lows near 20. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 33° | 26° | 20° |
| April | 60° | 48° | 39° |
| July | 84° | 74° | 65° |
| October | 65° | 54° | 45° |
Flying in and out of South Chicago Heights
Chicago Midway International sits about 22 miles away. It is a large hub and boarded 9.4 million passengers in 2025, with 113 nonstop destinations.
The best schools in and around South Chicago Heights
Schools across South Chicago Heights average an F, better than 2% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- U S Grant Elem SchoolD− · 16% proficient
Top middle schools
- Columbia Central SchoolF · 12% proficient
Top high schools
- Bloom Trail High SchoolF · 10% proficient
- Bloom High SchoolF · 8% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every South Chicago Heights school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
South Chicago Heights 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 South Chicago Heights against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in South Chicago Heights
Is South Chicago Heights a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, South Chicago Heights ranks 39,354th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on cell coverage, transit, and biking, and lowest on the schools and thin health care access. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is South Chicago Heights expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $149,727. The overall cost of living runs about 9% below the national average. Set against a $59,948 median income, cost of living beats 20% of towns.
Is South Chicago Heights safe?
South Chicago Heights is safer than 8% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $469 per resident a year.
Compare South Chicago Heights with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to South Chicago Heights. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in South Chicago Heights 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.
South Chicago Heights detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for South Chicago Heights: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in South Chicago Heights: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of South Chicago Heights: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in South Chicago Heights: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
South Chicago Heights 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.