Best PlacesWest Dundee, IL Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around West Dundee, 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.
West Dundee ranks 6,257th of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on biking by a wide margin, and property taxes are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in West Dundee
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 Dundee's strengths and weaknesses
Where West Dundee ranks high
- BikingBetter than 99% of towns
- TransitBetter than 97% of towns
- Health outlookBetter than 97% of towns
- WalkabilityBetter than 97% of towns
- Big-city accessBetter than 96% of towns
Where West Dundee ranks low
- Low property taxBetter than only 2% of towns
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 3% of towns
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 4% of towns
- Cheap childcare$1,380 a month, better than only 6% of towns
- Air qualityBetter than only 11% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in West Dundee
A household needs to earn about $107,000 a year to comfortably buy the median West Dundee home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $112,306, 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 Dundee's effective rate of 2.12%, 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 10 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in West Dundee
West Dundee'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 West Dundee.
Who works in West Dundee, and how
Work in West Dundee centers on education and manufacturing. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 80%
- Work from home 18%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in West Dundee
West Dundee has more restaurants and bars per resident than 89% of towns and more parkland per resident than 94% of towns. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of West Dundee and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in West Dundee, month by month
West Dundee sees roughly 99 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 Dundee
Chicago O'Hare International sits about 22 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 Dundee
Schools across West Dundee average a C−, better than 26% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Sleepy Hollow Elem SchoolC+ · 38% proficient
- Liberty Elementary SchoolC · 31% proficient
- Dundee Highlands Elem SchoolC− · 30% proficient
Top middle schools
- Dundee Middle SchoolC · 31% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every West Dundee school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
West Dundee 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 Dundee against the other 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in West Dundee
Is West Dundee a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, West Dundee ranks 6,257th of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on biking, transit, and population health, 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 Dundee expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $346,450. The overall cost of living runs about 4% below the national average. Set against a $112,306 median income, cost of living beats 91% of towns.
Is West Dundee safe?
West Dundee is safer than 32% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $298 per resident a year.
Compare West Dundee with other towns
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to West Dundee. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in West Dundee 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 Dundee detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for West Dundee: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in West Dundee: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of West Dundee: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in West Dundee: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
West Dundee 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.