*** LISTICLE ALERT *** - Every Chicagoland Suburb Ranked From Best To Worst

[Steely Dan]

This is from Chicago Magazine:

The Best Suburbs to Call Home
Six counties, 205 towns, only one winner. We crunched the numbers to rank every suburb in the Chicago area. Here’s how they stack up.

May 26, 2026, 6:00 am


Over the years, this magazine has produced many rankings of the best places to live in the Chicago area. We’d consult with experts and cite stats, sure, but those lists were largely subjective.

This time around, we put a twist on the exercise: For the first time, we evaluated suburbs based purely on the numbers. And not just the best suburbs — we ranked all 205 in the six-county area with populations of more than 5,000, from top to bottom. We tapped the analytics firm DataJoe to help us collect and weight various statistical measures and crunch the figures. (Our methodology can be found below.)

This quantitative look turned up some surprises: For starters, north suburban Libertyville, which hadn’t been on any of our recent previous rankings, landed at No. 2. And not all of the area’s tony towns ended up near the top. Oak Brook, for instance, came in at No. 157.


The top 25:

1. Winnetka
2. Libertyville
3. Glencoe
4. Arlington Heights
5. Naperville
6. Lake Forest
7. Geneva
8. Highland Park
9. Evanston
10. Lisle
11. Wilmette
12. Wheaton
13. Schiller Park
14. Vernon Hills
15. Aurora
16. Bartlett
17. Glen Ellyn
18. Deerfield
19. Northbrook
20. Long Grove
21. Lake Zurich
22. Itasca
23. Des Plaines
24. La Grange
25. Morton Grove

Full article with full ranking and methodology: https://www.chicagomag.com/chicago-magaz...-best-suburbs-to-live-in-all-205-ranked/



Nothing really shocking, though I was mildly surprised to see Evanston land in the top 10, given that it's way more of an "actual city" compared to most Chicagoland burbs, and thus has more "actual city" issues.

I really like that "proximity to The Loop" was one of their criteria for this exercise. Far too often these kinds of "best places to live" listicles competely ignore the "bumblefuck factor" in their methodolgy.


And for those curious about the most burning question: Schaumburg came in at at #33.


I assume local media elsewhere has done this for other metro areas as well, so lets see 'em!

[Tom In Chicago]

Kenilworth would like a word. . .

. . .

[Steely Dan]

Originally Posted by Tom In Chicago

Kenilworth would like a word. . .

Listicle people only included suburban municipalities with at least 5,000 residents.

Which is perfectly cromulent, IMO, because having incorporated burbs less than that is just fucking stupid.

Kenilworth's 2020 population was 2,514.

Winnetka should just rightfully annex it already.

Wouldn't change anything here.

[Velvet_Highground]

Schaumburg at 33 oh how the mighty have fallen. Or maybe that’s a good thing with Chicago having 600 billion suburban communities? For real though Chicago has an eye watering number of municipalities.

Even Google AI with all of humanity’s knowledge at its fingertips cannot comprehend the largesse of Chicagoland “saying there is no definitive number but the Chicago region encompasses 284 communities”. Lol typical AI don’t get me started on how your answer to the same question can bust a 180 degree turn as you add more facts to your query.

Asides aside not surprised even from a distance that the North Shore dominates the top of the list it’s subjective to an extent but man is that a desirable area. Southern Lake Michigan is kind of the ideal Great Lake warms up pretty quickly & has nice white sand beaches with that stunning upper GL’s turquoise water. Not to mention Evanston’s strong urbanism paired with classic American street car suburbs. It’s a cool if expensive place.

[Docere]

Originally Posted by Tom In Chicago

Kenilworth would like a word. . .

. . .

Double your population Kenilworth, then try again.

[Steely Dan]

Originally Posted by Velvet_Highground

Or maybe that’s a good thing with Chicago having 600 billion suburban communities? For real though Chicago has an eye watering number of municipalities.

It really is ridiculous.

In a less stupid version of the world, Cook County would consist of The City, and then 30 incorporated (and quite rational) township burbs, instead of the 175 highly-irrational incorporated burbs it does have, some of which are absurdly tiny like McCook with 250 people, or Golf with 500.

Those 30 theoretical township burbs would have a phenomenally more sensible average size of around 85,000 people.

BUT........ we live in the stupid version of the world....... whadaya gonna do?

Originally Posted by Velvet_Highground

Asides aside not surprised even from a distance that the North Shore dominates the top of the list it’s subjective to an extent but man is that a desirable area. Southern Lake Michigan is kind of the ideal Great Lake warms up pretty quickly & has nice white sand beaches with that stunning upper GL’s turquoise water. Not to mention Evanston’s strong urbanism paired with classic American street car suburbs. It’s a cool if expensive place.

Yep. On a relative basis the Northshore is very expensive.

Only 9 suburban municipalities in this exercise exceed a median home sale price of $1M:

1. Winnetka - $1,983,500
2. Glencoe - $1,700,000
3. Hinsdale - $1,406,500
4. Lake Forest - $1,375,000
5. Wilmette - $1,280,000
6. Northfield - $1,180,000
7. S.Barrington - $1,125,000
8. Burr Ridge - $1,105,000
9. Oak Brook - $1,080,000

Median of this study: $400K


The bolded are Northshore burbs (5 of 9).

The other major concentration is out in Dupage County with the contiguous Hinsdale/Burr Ridge/Oak Brook trifecta.

The ninth, South Barrington, is out in the way far NW corner of Cook County in horse country.




I grew up in Wilmette.

It was fine, but it was also a bit different back then.

My dad bought the house I grew up in back in 1975 for $27K (not a typo).

He sold it 3 decades later in 2005 for $700K.

I guess you could say he did alright on the purchase of his first home.

[BnaBreaker]

There are 182 Chicago suburbs? I had no idea... Jesus I've never even heard half the places on that list

Homewood deserves to be higher simply due to it being home to Maple Tree Inn... best Cajun food I've had outside NOLA.

[Steely Dan]

Originally Posted by BnaBreaker

There are 182 Chicago suburbs?

Way more than that.

This ranking only included the 205 incorpprated municipalities over 5,000 people in cook.and the 5 main collar counties.

Throw in the other MSA counties and the tiny burbs >5,000 people, and you'd be well over 300.

It's very stupid.

[twister244]

Happy to see Naperville isn't number 1...... But also sad to see it above Evanston.....

I want to explore the North burbs a bit more this Summer. I remember taking the UP-North line through all of them years ago and feel like there's a ton to go check out on a random Summer day.

[Steely Dan]

Originally Posted by twister244

Happy to see Naperville isn't number 1...... But also sad to see it above Evanston.....

While most of Naperville sucks, at least it has a traditional old town center.

The real injustice here is Vernon Hills making it into the top 25.

That place is a monumentally forgettable "mall with sprawl" post-war dystopia, with essentially zero in the way of any kind of remotely urban development.

Its population was 123 in 1960, LOL!

[Tom In Chicago]

Thanks for answering all my Kenilworth related questions I had stacked up. . . too lazy to just Google it. . .

. . . and yes. . . we have too many municipal units of government here [/facepalm]

. . .

[dimondpark]

Hello? Kenilworth?

Average Family Income, 2024:
$545,371--Winnetka, IL
$535,752--Kenilworth, IL
$468,505--Glencoe, IL
$429,804--Bannockburn, IL
$413,863--Hinsdale, IL
$383,188--Golf, IL
$363,381--Long Grove, IL
$356,945--Barrington Hills, IL
$354,276--Lake Forest, IL
$351,477--Wilmette, IL
$340,661--Western Springs, IL
$339,268--Riverwoods, IL
$338,568--Kildeer, IL
$335,042--North Barrington, IL
$329,168--Northfield, IL
$327,494--River Forest, IL
$321,883--South Barrington, IL
$312,178--Highland Park, IL
$309,968--Burr Ridge, IL
$303,944--Lake Bluff, IL
$300,842--Oak Brook, IL
$293,320--Inverness, IL
$291,604--Deer Park, IL
$291,076--Palos Park, IL
$285,620--Deerfield, IL
$284,607--Lincolnshire, IL
$283,304--Dune Acres, IN
$280,714--Clarendon Hills, IL
$275,737--Green Oaks, IL
$275,362--Campton Hills, IL
$274,914--Hawthorn Woods, IL
$270,152--Northbrook, IL
$268,529--Sherwood Forest, IN
$264,429--Mettawa, IL
$262,238--La Grange, IL
$258,943--Libertyville, IL
$258,295--Lakewood, IL

Oh, never mind, I just read Steely Dan's explanation...

But still, Kenilworth is *THAT* girl.

[Steely Dan]

^ That list is a good example of why the 5,000 people cut-off is a good idea.

About half of those fall under the threshold, with many containing fewer people than a typical census tract.

Dunes Acres, IN only has 234 people. What is that, like 75 households? Who cares?



Winnetka/Glencoe/Kenilworth are essentially the same place. And they're all right next to each other.

They should all just merge and call it "Wiglenworth", a town of about 25K rich people along the shore of lake michigan.

I think that would make it the largest contiguous clump of $500K+ average income housolds in the midwest. Maybe in the entire interior of the nation? (though maybe not with the rise of texas)

[dimondpark]

Originally Posted by Steely Dan

^ That list is a good example of why the 5,000 people cut-off is a good idea.

About half of those fall under the threshold, with many containing fewer people than a typical census tract.

Dunes Acres, IN only has 234 people. What is that, like 75 households? Who cares?

Winnetka/Glencoe/Kenilworth are essentially the same place. And they're all right next to each other.

They should all just merge and call it "Wiglenworth", a town of about 25K rich people along the shore of lake michigan.

I think that would make it the largest contiguous clump of $500K+ average income housolds in the midwest. Maybe in the entite interior of the nation? (though maybe not with the rise of texas)

I would have to agree with the contiguous clump thing. Back in 2013, The Washington Post took census bureau data and came up with this list of the...

Largest Contiguous Clusters of Elite Zip Codes defined by at least 7 in 10 adults have a College Degree and the Average Income exceed $120,000
Area----------------Households---Sq Miles---Zip Codes
Washington DC------513,617-------717--------63
E. Manhattan-------231,688-------5----------12
San Jose-----------201,852-------437--------22
Boston-------------176,024-------513--------39
Oakland------------137,063-------240--------17
Bridgeport---------120,129-------465--------31
Newark-------------114,700-------260--------27
Chicago-------------85,261-------141--------12
N. of Los Angeles---75,428-------260--------10(Malibu to Beverly Hills)
Long Island---------67,610-------87---------14
W. Manhattan--------65,218-------1----------3
Trenton-------------59,421-------246--------12
Philadelphia--------58,478-------125--------12
San Diego-----------57,079-------98---------7
S. of Los Angeles---50,072-------63---------6(South OC)

If you click on this link, you can scroll down and on the right side, you can click on a list with these cities names and you can see a map(not a very good one, but still, of the areas in question.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/sf/local/2013/11/09/washington-a-world-apart/

The data is outdated but I don't think much has really changed, only that these same areas have actually become even more educated and even more affluent, even as other areas have emerged.

[BnaBreaker]

Originally Posted by Steely Dan

Way more than that.

This ranking only included the 205 incorpprated municipalities over 5,000 people in cook.and the 5 main collar counties.

Throw in the other MSA counties and the tiny burbs >5,000 people, and you'd be well over 300.

It's very stupid.

Absolutely unreal. If I was randomly asked that question on the street I'd probably guess 60 or 70.

[Steely Dan]

Originally Posted by dimondpark

Average Family Income, 2024:
$545,371--Winnetka, IL
$535,752--Kenilworth, IL
$468,505--Glencoe, IL
$429,804--Bannockburn, IL
$413,863--Hinsdale, IL
$383,188--Golf, IL
$363,381--Long Grove, IL
$356,945--Barrington Hills, IL
$354,276--Lake Forest, IL
$351,477--Wilmette, IL
$340,661--Western Springs, IL
$339,268--Riverwoods, IL
$338,568--Kildeer, IL
$335,042--North Barrington, IL
$329,168--Northfield, IL
$327,494--River Forest, IL
$321,883--South Barrington, IL
$312,178--Highland Park, IL
$309,968--Burr Ridge, IL
$303,944--Lake Bluff, IL
$300,842--Oak Brook, IL

here's a map to help understand the spatial relationshis of the richest parts of chicagoland:



northshore is clear as day, as is the Hinsdale area cluster in the western burbs.

the big red blotches in the northwest are the Barrington area - giant lot mansion horse country. large in area, but very sparsely populated, relatively speaking- northsore and hinsdale area burbs have a lot more people.

[pip]

Deerfield??? Really!? It's a 1970's suburbs and all the trappings of that era. Lake/Cook rd. perhaps the most automobile dependent place I've seen in the Chicago area. My job transferred from the Loop to Deerfield a couple of months ago. I take the train(regional rail) from Ravenwood Chicago to Glencoe - #3 in that list, and that is perhaps the nicest suburb I've ever seen anywhere for any city along with it's cute walkable downtown - that has the train stop in it, and also has everything one could need in that downtown.

[Steely Dan]

Originally Posted by pip

Deerfield??? Really!? It's a 1970's suburbs and all the trappings of that era. Lake/Cook rd. perhaps the most automobile dependent place I've seen in the Chicago area.

Deerfield was 90% built-out in the 50s/60s, growing from 3,288 in 1950 to 18,876 by 1970 (19,196 in 2020). It's alright, but nothing at all special. It ranked high here because of very high marks for community, housing, education, and safety (it's textbook upper middle class post-war suburbia, so..... yeah). Its mobility score was 7.1 out of 10, which is much higher than I would score it, but it's probably getting a big boost from its two metra stations, which is fine, but there's a lot more to mobility than just commuter rail.

And yeah, lake-cook road through deerfield is a god-awful "stroad to hell", but not fundamentally different/worse than the hundreds of miles of other stroads that litter chicagoland like a bad curse.

Originally Posted by pip

My job transferred from the Loop to Deerfield a couple of months ago.

Ooooh, that sucks. My condolences. Are you at least partial remote?

[pip]

I assumed the 70's because near where I work the houses are mostly built in the 1970's. I am surprised to hear about Deerfield being that built up well prior to the 1970's.

Just one day a week remote lol. Something has to give otherwise it's time for me to start looking for a new job.

From the Metra Glencoe train station to the office in Deerfield and back the company pays for an Uber.

[Steely Dan]

Originally Posted by pip

From the Metra Glencoe train station to the office in Deerfield and back the company pays for an Uber.

Or they could've just let you continue to work out of the loop office for free.

Companies can be so fucking stupid.


Why even put offices out in the burbs in the first place when we have metra?

It's all so dumb.