Best PlacesWest Chicago, IL Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around West Chicago, 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.
West Chicago ranks 1,279th of 2,098 U.S. cities on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on a stable housing market by a wide margin, and property taxes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in West 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.
West Chicago's strengths and weaknesses
Where West Chicago ranks high
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 94% of cities
- Heat safetyBetter than 90% of cities
- Low vacancyBetter than 83% of cities
- Disaster safetyBetter than 83% of cities
- Big-city accessBetter than 80% of cities
Where West Chicago ranks low
- Low property taxBetter than only 2% of cities
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 5% of cities
- School gradeD, better than only 6% of cities
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 6% of cities
- Local economyBetter than only 10% of cities
What it costs to buy a home in West Chicago
A household needs to earn about $103,000 a year to comfortably buy the median West Chicago home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $110,609, 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 West Chicago's effective rate of 2.33%, 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 West Chicago
West Chicago's age mix sits close to the national median, and households here run larger than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for West Chicago.
Who works in West Chicago, and how
Work in West Chicago centers on manufacturing and health care & social. Unemployment runs well above the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 84%
- Work from home 12%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in West Chicago
West Chicago has more restaurants and bars per resident than 68% of cities and more parkland per resident than 90% of cities. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of West Chicago and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in West Chicago, month by month
West Chicago sees roughly 98 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 85 degrees. January highs sit near 32, with lows near 18. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 32° | 25° | 18° |
| April | 61° | 49° | 39° |
| July | 85° | 75° | 65° |
| October | 64° | 54° | 45° |
Flying in and out of West Chicago
Chicago O'Hare International sits about 16 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 West Chicago
Schools across West Chicago average a D, better than 6% of cities.
Top elementary schools
- Norton Creek Elementary SchoolA · 64% proficient
- Pleasant Hill Elem SchoolB− · 40% proficient
- Heritage Lakes Elem SchoolC+ · 38% proficient
Top middle schools
- Wredling Middle SchoolB+ · 48% proficient
- Benjamin Middle SchoolB− · 43% proficient
- Kenyon Woods Middle SchoolB− · 40% proficient
Top high schools
- Geneva Community High SchoolB+ · 56% proficient
- St Charles East High SchoolB+ · 54% proficient
- Wheaton North High SchoolB+ · 51% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every West Chicago school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
West 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 West Chicago against the other 2,097 cities.
Who West Chicago suits
Common questions about living in West Chicago
Is West Chicago a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, West Chicago ranks 1,279th of 2,098 cities. It scores highest on a stable housing market, heat safety, and few empty homes, and lowest on property taxes and taxes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is West Chicago expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $325,770. The overall cost of living runs about 1% below the national average. Set against a $110,609 median income, cost of living beats 68% of cities.
Is West Chicago safe?
West Chicago is safer than 52% of cities. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $242 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in West Chicago?
July highs average about 85 degrees, and January highs near 32 with lows near 18. That works out to about 98 pleasant days a year, more than 59% of cities.
Is West Chicago good for families?
Schools beat 6% of cities, crime safety beats 52%, and childcare runs $1,559 a month.
Compare West Chicago with other cities
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to West Chicago. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in West 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.
West Chicago detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for West Chicago: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in West Chicago: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of West Chicago: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in West Chicago: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
West 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.