WYLT Neighborhood Rankings · 2026

Best Neighborhoods
in Illinois

Ranked by safety, schools, walkability, and value. Every verdict is based on real data — no sponsored rankings, no fluff.

25 neighborhoods reviewed
5 "Settle here" picks
19 "Good for now" picks

#1 Pick in Illinois

Lincoln Park, Lincoln Park is the top-rated neighborhood in Illinois — our highest verdict.

Top 25 Neighborhoods in Illinois

#1

Lincoln Park

Settle here

Lincoln Park, IL

Price

$730K

Walk

89/100

Schools

7/10

View report →
#2

Chicago

Settle here

Chicago, IL

Price

$617K

Walk

78/100

Schools

6.9/10

View report →
#3

Chicago

Settle here

Chicago, IL

Price

$487K

Walk

70/100

Schools

6.9/10

View report →
#4

Chicago

Settle here

Chicago, IL

Price

$395K

Walk

59/100

Schools

7/10

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#5

Naperville

Settle here

Naperville, IL

Price

$482K

Walk

11/100

Schools

6.6/10

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#6

Chicago

Good for now

Chicago, IL

Price

$353K

Walk

93/100

Schools

7.1/10

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#7

Chicago

Good for now

Chicago, IL

Price

$527K

Walk

92/100

Schools

7/10

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#8

Lakeview

Good for now

Lakeview, IL

Price

$527K

Walk

92/100

Schools

7/10

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#9

Chicago

Good for now

Chicago, IL

Price

$557K

Walk

92/100

Schools

7/10

View report →
#10

Chicago

Good for now

Chicago, IL

Price

$496K

Walk

88/100

Schools

6.9/10

View report →
#11

River North

Good for now

River North, IL

Price

$496K

Walk

88/100

Schools

6.9/10

View report →
#12

Chicago

Good for now

Chicago, IL

Price

$538K

Walk

79/100

Schools

6.9/10

View report →
#13

Wicker Park

Good for now

Wicker Park, IL

Price

$617K

Walk

78/100

Schools

6.9/10

View report →
#14

West Loop

Good for now

West Loop, IL

Price

$487K

Walk

70/100

Schools

6.9/10

View report →
#15

Chicago

Good for now

Chicago, IL

Price

$322K

Walk

60/100

Schools

6.8/10

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#16

Logan Square

Good for now

Logan Square, IL

Price

$538K

Walk

79/100

Schools

6.9/10

View report →
#17

Bloomington

Good for now

Bloomington, IL

Price

$133K

Walk

34/100

Schools

7.4/10

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#18

Arlington Heights

Good for now

Arlington Heights, IL

Price

$404K

Walk

27/100

Schools

6.9/10

View report →
#19

Skokie

Good for now

Skokie, IL

Price

$378K

Walk

24/100

Schools

7/10

View report →
#20

Evanston

Good for now

Evanston, IL

Price

$557K

Walk

20/100

Schools

7/10

View report →
#21

Schaumburg

Good for now

Schaumburg, IL

Price

$316K

Walk

16/100

Schools

7.1/10

View report →
#22

Chicago

Think twice

Chicago, IL

Price

$730K

Walk

89/100

Schools

7/10

View report →
#23

Berwyn

Good for now

Berwyn, IL

Price

$265K

Walk

11/100

Schools

6.6/10

View report →
#24

Aurora

Good for now

Aurora, IL

Price

$178K

Schools

6.8/10

View report →
#25

Bolingbrook

Good for now

Bolingbrook, IL

Price

$242K

Schools

6.7/10

View report →

How we rank neighborhoods in Illinois

Every neighborhood on this list was evaluated using real data across four dimensions: safety (violent and property crime risk), schools (rating out of 10), walkability (Walk Score out of 100), and home prices relative to the Illinois average. Our scoring model weighs each factor equally and assigns one of four plain-English verdicts — from "Settle here" (our highest rating) to "Hard pass" — so you know exactly where each place stands without having to decode letter grades.

Rankings are updated as new reports are generated. All data is sourced from public records, national databases, and our AI-assisted analysis. Click any neighborhood to read its full report.

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