Best PlacesWest Town, Chicago, IL Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around West Town, Chicago, 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 Town, Chicago ranks 793rd of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on biking by a wide margin, and state finances rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in West Town, 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 Town, Chicago's strengths and weaknesses
Where West Town, Chicago ranks high
- BikingBetter than 98% of neighborhoods
- Health outlookBetter than 98% of neighborhoods
- WalkabilityBetter than 97% of neighborhoods
- Heat safetyBetter than 94% of neighborhoods
- TransitBetter than 94% of neighborhoods
Where West Town, Chicago ranks low
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 4% of neighborhoods
- Tree shadeBetter than only 9% of neighborhoods
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 10% of neighborhoods
- Low property taxBetter than only 13% of neighborhoods
- Crime safetyBetter than only 13% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in West Town, Chicago
A household needs to earn about $171,000 a year to comfortably buy the median West Town, Chicago home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $135,186, so buying stretches a typical household.
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 Town, Chicago's effective rate of 1.60%, 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 Town, Chicago
West Town, Chicago runs younger than the country, 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 West Town, Chicago.
Who works in West Town, Chicago, and how
Work in West Town, Chicago centers on professional & technical and health care & social. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 35%
- Work from home 37%
- Transit, walk, or bike 28%
Life in West Town, Chicago
West Town, Chicago has more restaurants and bars per resident than 82% of neighborhoods and more parkland per resident than 77% of neighborhoods. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of West Town, Chicago and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in West Town, Chicago, month by month
West Town, Chicago sees roughly 76 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 86 degrees. January highs sit near 34, with lows near 22. The comfortable stretch runs May, June, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 34° | 28° | 22° |
| April | 61° | 50° | 43° |
| July | 86° | 77° | 70° |
| October | 66° | 57° | 49° |
Flying in and out of West Town, Chicago
Chicago Midway International sits about 9 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 West Town, Chicago
Schools across West Town, Chicago average a C+, better than 49% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Stem Magnet Academy ElemB+ · 53% proficient
- Mitchell Elem SchoolB− · 40% proficient
- Burr Elem SchoolC+ · 38% proficient
Top high schools
- Chicago Hs For The ArtsD · 23% proficient
- Noble St Chtr Rauner College PrepD− · 15% proficient
- Noble St Chtr-noble CampusD− · 13% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every West Town, Chicago school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
West Town, 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 Town, Chicago against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Who West Town, Chicago suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 88% of neighborhoods and 37% already work from home.
Common questions about living in West Town, Chicago
Is West Town, Chicago a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, West Town, Chicago ranks 793rd of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on biking, population health, and walkability, and lowest on state finances and tree cover. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is West Town, Chicago expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $590,906. The overall cost of living runs about 17% above the national average. Set against a $135,186 median income, cost of living beats 88% of neighborhoods.
Is West Town, Chicago safe?
West Town, Chicago is safer than 13% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $608 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in West Town, Chicago?
July highs average about 86 degrees, and January highs near 34 with lows near 22. That works out to about 76 pleasant days a year, more than 34% of neighborhoods.
Is West Town, Chicago good for families?
Schools beat 49% of neighborhoods, crime safety beats 13%, and childcare runs $1,105 a month.
Compare West Town, Chicago with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to West Town, Chicago. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in West Town, 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 Town, Chicago detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for West Town, Chicago: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in West Town, Chicago: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of West Town, Chicago: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in West Town, Chicago: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
West Town, 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.